State to become failed if unrest continues

The country would become a failed and a militant dominated state, if the two main parties do not hold dialogues to end the current political crisis, speakers said at a press conference yesterday.
They said the two parties had to stop considering each other enemy and start to work together for the sake of the nation; otherwise democracy would be at stake.
Dr Shahdeen Malik, director of the Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs (Bilia), said, "We cannot expect any solution to the ongoing tension even by the end of this year if the two political parties continue to act like medieval forces."
There cannot be any preconditions for dialogues, both of them need to compromise on certain issues, he told the conference organised by Shushashoner Janney Nagarik (Shujan) at Dhaka Reporters Unity.
Columnist and Shujan executive member Syed Abul Moksud said the country's politics and political parties needed to undergo an overhaul for getting it rid of violence.
"The government and the opposition party should decide what kind of state they want of Bangladesh. Do they want a secular state, an Islamic one, a peaceful state or one that is entangled in hartal all the time?" he asked.
The speakers, however, had different views on the arrest of bloggers, with some putting stress on religious sentiments and the others on the right to free speech.