The road march had met police resistance on three points en route without any provocation. Some 40 activists of the front have suffered varying degrees of injury in the uncalled for baton charge by law enforcers.
In a democracy, citizens have the right to protest peacefully against a decision made by the government, or are we to take it that the right to congregate peacefully and organise a procession is no longer a democratic right of the people of Bangladesh?
We have noticed that, of late, the police have taken for granted their right to use force at the slightest pretext. But what pretext did these protesters give the police? They were part of an orderly demonstration demanding a rethink by the government of the Rampal power plant being set up in the Sundarbans, which also happens to be a world heritage site. The plan has also come under criticism by experts.
That a small procession of activists’ march to the site from Dhaka to elicit public opinion in their favour should generate such police action is difficult to understand. The demand for a judicial probe into the incident is not an unjust one, especially in light of the heavy and ham handed action of the police.
Source: The Daily Star
