We condemn political violence and vandalism
We are aghast at the intensity and extent of clashes between Jamaat-Shibir and law-enforcers engulfing the entire areas of Motijeel, Dilkusha and Paltan in the city on Monday afternoon. There were also violent encounters between Jamaat-Shibir elements and police in eleven district towns.
We consider such outburst of violence thoroughly reprehensible as this not only caused physical injuries on a large scale but also led to disruption of public life extensively.
The way the agitators fought pitched battles with the police and burned down a police van and damaged other vehicles and roadside shops demonstrated the ugly side of political vengeance on their part.
Jammat and Shibir supporters holding their programme to demand release of their leaders facing war crimes trial brought out a procession a day earlier than scheduled. This caught the police unawares. In that particular sense it was a premeditated move by Jamaat, who were prepared to swoop on the police, and they did so.
However, neither the meeting nor taking out of procession was banned under prohibitive orders. That brings the police role in focus.
As long as a legitimate political party runs its programme peacefully without disrupting public order, they should be allowed to do so. Our experience, however, has been that the police are given to pre-emptive strikes precipitating breakdown of law and order, although in this particular case Jamaat may have been the first to provoke.
In a democracy any legitimate political party has every right to assemble, hold rallies and take out processions to voice their grievances or express their dissent.
We are strongly in favour of the right to democratic expression by a political party. If Jamaat wants to enjoy the benefits of democracy then it will have to go by the basic rules of political conduct.
The government should look into this and ensure that all recognised political parties are free to conduct their legitimate political activities without any undue interference from the law-enforcement authorities. At the same time, Jamaat should behave responsibly.
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