Method of combating crime

NO government that claims to stand for the rule of law and human rights can afford to resort to extralegal means to solve problems. Yet, from reports appearing in this newspaper it seems that 'crossfire', 'encounter' and 'gunfights' appear to be the preferred means for combating crimes. Regrettably, the underlying motivation demonstrates lack of faith in the legal system.
There appears to be continuity of approach of the erstwhile 4 party alliance regime led by the BNP and the current alliance led by the AL, insofar as that relates to government attitude towards illegal killings by the law enforcing agencies. This is in sharp contrast to the AL's position on the issue which they had not only denounced while in the opposition but had also vouched, in its election manifesto, to end if elected to power.
We have been constantly harping on the imperative to abide by the rule of law that under no circumstances should any state apparatus betray criminals' predisposition to violence. While terrorists and criminals care little for the rights of citizens, it is the state that is looked upon as the defender of the same. And civilised norms obligate the state to provide everyone the chance to avail of the due process of law, even a suspected criminal
We have been surprised that high officials including some ministers, chose to justify extrajudicial killings in so many words. And by now, perhaps, the government has realised that there is no positive correlation between the number encounter deaths and the decline in the crime rate.
While we are disappointed at the present state of affairs we take some solace in the fact that a segment in the AL sees the method as being wrong. We hope that they would be able to prevail upon the party leadership for a rethink on the matter.
No doubt the government's prime responsibility is towards the wellbeing of the greater majority, but that cannot be at the expense of the rule of law, certainly not through acts that not only denigrate the image of the country but also belittles the democratic and moral values based on the rights of citizens, which a government committed to establishing the rule of law can ill afford.
While sweeping powers have been given to the law enforcing agencies there is no concomitant effort to establish accountability. We suggest that there be a stock taking and reformulation of approach to combat crime. But above all, there must be accountability and oversight, of the government over the agencies, and also within the specialised agencies themselves.