Relaxation of emergency
The decision by the government, hot on the heels of the announcement of the election schedule, to go for a relaxation of the state of emergency is welcome. There can be no denying that the move eases further the situation vis-à-vis the holding of the general elections next month. The fetters that have been there since January last year now have been removed in order for politics to get back to normal. At the same time, by revoking certain clauses of the Emergency Powers Rules, the government has removed the hindrances that have so far stood in the way of the working of the media. There have already been notable developments among the political circles, with parties like the Awami League taking preparations for participation in the polls. It is expected that other parties will take the cue and go fully into election mode in the next few days.
There can be little question of the significance involved in the withdrawal of the soldiers from the scene. The army, we will remember, was brought in to aid the civil authority in carrying out the responsibilities of the state. Now that the soldiers have been withdrawn to the barracks, normalcy has been signalled and we are firmly on course towards a smooth, quick return to democratic government. At this newspaper, we have always kept the hope for democracy alight. We have, therefore, reason to think that the new initiative of the government is a vindication of our optimism. It squares up with the demand of the times and allows the nation as a whole to go wholeheartedly into the business of electioneering.
We expect that all remaining fetters to electoral activities will be removed in good time in accordance with the road map outlined by the caretaker government. It now remains for the political parties to reassure the nation about the transformation that they intend to bring about in national politics through the elections. We have earlier expressed the hope that they will discard the negative politics of the past and instead take the country into the future through reinventing politics in accordance with the demand of the times. A fundamental necessity is for the parties to nominate honest, dedicated candidates for the Jatiyo Sangsad and thereby convince the nation that they have learnt some very obvious lessons in the last two years or so.
In the last many months, hope was kindled in the hearts of the millions of people of Bangladesh about an enlightened future for themselves. The relaxation of the emergency gives new substance to that hope.
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