The irony of Ershad's case

I still vividly remember the day Hussain Muhammad Ershad was forced to resign from the office of the president. The kind of joy, excitement and relief that was expressed by the people after his removal hadn't been seen since the independence of Bangladesh in 1971. And like our independence, it too gave people hope for something better in the future.

However, like millions of ordinary citizens, it was painful for me to see Ershad's gradual metamorphosis. In the past decades, he has managed to bury his crimes. Now, he goes around the country boasting of his legacy of nine years as a dictator and lecturing us on important national issues. He never forgets to remind us that he holds the “trump card” in determining which party goes to power. This is so pathetic and contradicts everything that we believe and hold dear as a nation.

Mohammad Ferdous Kabir, London