Among other great qualities of the late president, you also mentioned that "the image of personally honest Zia and his financial incorruptibility reaches a level of incredulity when compared with the present reality of BNP and its leaders." Addressing the PM you also wrote, "Will the PM take up the challenge of making public how many sons, daughters, cousins, nieces, nephews of party leaders are in big business and since when they came into their fabulous wealth?" This actually reminds me of the story of a student who memorised only one essay on "COW" and used it in every exam only by writing a few introductory lines on the top. Is "Rebuke BNP" your actual essay and Zia's death anniversary is just a few introductory lines to use the only essay?"

I respectfully suggest you to write a series of articles whose title could be "Let Us Expose Our Corrupt Leaders." These leaders could be from the BNP, AL, or any other party. You should mention the actual names and the documented corruption of these leaders and how much money they have gathered illegally. That is the service we expect from you.

This is in reference to your front page commentary, "How is the BNP paying tribute to its founder?" (Daily Star, 31 May 2005). I usually do not care for your style, tone of your customary run of the mill articles, what I perceive as high handed attitude (I find it baffling and amusing that you refer to yourself in plural, as in 'we' instead of 'I', I know in scriptures God does so), and modern day Aesop's fable contents of sanctimonious pieces.

But this one is different. There is hardly anything we can disagree with in your annotations. You know election season is approaching when you see BNP toadies and cronies putting up assorted banners and erecting huge gates at different intersections all over the city, proclaiming their enduring loyalty and adoration for the party and founder, on Zia's death anniversary.

After I witnessed the widespread looting, pillaging and pilfering in post liberation Bangladesh, I had pledged never to vote for AL. I think it is time for sensible Bangladeshis with a modicum of leftover ethics and conscience to take the same stance against the boorish, arrogant and obnoxious BNP. You really have to wonder if the liberation of this country has served the sole purpose for a bunch of criminal politicians, businessmen and 'student' leaders to get rich quick at the expense of the state and people. I hope I have not interrupted the burp of contentment and 'all is hunky dory in good old Bangladesh' crowd among the ruling coterie and other Pollyanna Bangladeshis here and abroad.

Omar Khasru On e-mail

I applaud the comments of Daily Star Editor Mahfuz Anam about how the BNP is paying tribute to its founder. We always had the same question in our minds and today you spoke for all of us. Thanks to The Daily Star and specially to Mr. Mahfuz Anam for such a beautiful and fact based commentary.

Will the BNP take some lesson from this and correct themselves to respect their founder?

Delwar Hossain San Francisco, US

What a beautiful commentary! I just can't believe that a newspaper can publish such comments in Bangladesh. My great respect goes to Mr. Mahfuz Anam.

Shaun Chowdhury System Analyst/Support Jim Coleman Company