Aggression won't get Jamaat anywhere

Jamaat-e-islami appears to have decided to go on a progressively violent trajectory to have its partisan demands met the release of accused war criminals and stopping of war crimes trial, for which the people at large are standing in support. These “mega showdowns” that appear to be a decision by the party's high command calls for party cadres to deploy hit-and-run tactics on law enforcement agencies. Indeed, going by media reports, some 5,000 party workers have been deployed to create havoc all over the country. That tactic has already cost the life of one policeman in Jessore.
It appears that the Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Shibir have opted to realise their demands terrorisation tactic. We firmly condemn it and declare that their methods will be resisted by the mass people. There is no sympathy for Jamaat's demand. The party risks losing legitimacy as a political party due to the ratcheted up mayhem, vandalism and destruction of public and private property. We find it that BNP, the main opposition party in parliament has extended its “moral” support to the strike called by Jamaat. There is nothing morally supportable about blasting bombs, torching vehicles, wounding ordinary citizens and attacking law enforcers in the name of stopping the trial the nation has been waiting for since gaining independence.
The fact that Jamaat has extended its unruly attack frenzy to district towns where identical methods of engagement have been deployed reveal a disturbing pattern of behaviour. Shibir is out to create trouble and it is not averse to taking lives. Jamaat being a registered political party will have to behave as one and not as a reckless bunch of hooligans disrupting public order and peace. However, if what has happened today is an indication of what is to come, then authorities will have to rethink their policy on containment with special emphasis on intelligence gathering. For its part, the Jamaat should seriously think about the consequences of its current level of bellicosity and settle for peaceful means.