Political killings
On Wednesday 21st of October 2009, Barrister Fazle Noor Taposh MP, came under attack by what appears to be a bomb charged to the vehicle he was about to get in. He was lucky enough to survive the bomb attack which happened outside his office in the capital's downtown Motijheel Commercial Area, but that left at least 13 other people wounded. What has happened has been disgraceful and very much damaging for our country.
Unfortunately, this is not the first time that a political leader has been under attack. It has become an every day matter in our country's political culture. Since the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971, over the last thirty eight years Bangladesh has seen the days of brightness and promise as well as the horrific realities of death and destruction. Our country which was born out of a bloody war costing millions of lives fell again into the tricky trap of revolution and counter revolution and secret political killings paving its way to terrorism in politics.
Beginning with the murder of our founding father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, followed by the jail killings of high profile political leaders whose contributions to the liberation of Bangladesh can hardly be underestimated and of course the murder of General Ziaur Rahman , the former President of Bangladesh, the killing extravaganza has continued over the last nearly four decades. And the situation is never ending.
Surprisingly, the perpetrators of such heinous crimes have not been brought to justice until recently when the trial of Bangabandhu and his family killing has started under the present government.
All these political killings are related to each other.
The recent bomb attack on AL lawmaker Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh indicates that some people have not yet lost their thirst for blood. Their action reminds us that those who pursue the path of violence and conspiracy are not taking a day off, and as a citizen it upsets me that most of these conspirators often go untouched. In the early hours of 15th August 1975, young Taposh (age four) and his brother (age six) were left orphaned when their parents were brutally murdered by the conspirators who plotted the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Today, the young AL lawmaker Taposh , who has two young sons, makes me wonder whether history was about to repeat for them.
Now, the job at hand is to identify the miscreants who made this attempt on his life. If as a society we allow such incidents to go unpunished, then our political arena will keep on losing potential lawmakers who can actually bring a change. I am thankful to God that Taposh with a stroke of luck has not joined the long list of politicians who we have lost to unholy acts of men. Moreover, as an individual I can only hope that the consciousness of human beings do not rationalize such measures, irrespective of their political ideology. Violence has never raised the morale of a nation.
Ashikur Rahman, PhD Candidate , London School of Economics, (LSE), UK
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