Pre-hartal violence

As if as a brutal surprise for the citizens, pro-hartal activists torched three vehicles in the city on the eve of today's country-wide shutdown called by BNP-led 18-party alliance.
The sudden arson attacks on unsuspecting transport operators on Tuesday were totally unacceptable, mindless and outrageous.  Will the hartal- enforcers take responsibility for the damage inflicted on the vehicles so attacked?
Sad to say, the common people have been willy-nilly forced to suffer  hartals along with their attendant violence. But they are not at all ready for any violence on the day ahead of an announced shut-down.
According to the 18-party opposition alliance, it has called today's hartal to press home its demand for cancellation of all cases filed against BNP leader Tareq Rahman.
But then Tuesday's violence involving burning of vehicles amounts to terrorising the citizens.
In fact, by such irresponsible acts of wreaking havoc on the lives and properties of the public, they are not gaining anything but losing whatever sympathy the people might have had about their demands and programmes.
It is expected of the opposition that it would behave sensibly and shun all types of violence whether on the day before hartal or during a hartal.
Whilst disapproving of today's hartal that will inflict enormous suffering on the people and cause a colossal economic loss to the nation, we urge the government to set opposition leaders free to create an engaging atmosphere.