Prevent anarchy, halt arrests

According to a Prothom Alo report on Thursday, attacks on political opponents have lessened to an extent during the election campaign. Then again, we are concerned about the 11 new cases filed in eight districts and the arrest of more than 2,000 leaders and activists of the political opposition.

Also, those responsible for the horrific attack on BNP candidate Habibur Rahman Habib that left him severely injured, have not been not arrested yet.

The police are conducting drives to arrest opposition leaders and activists and supporters in different places ahead of 30 December election. In some cases, it is the BNP leaders are injured in a brawl, and yet they are the ones arrested or harassed by the police.

There are only two days to go for the voting day. The formal election campaign will end on 8am Friday. The candidates, the parties and the election commission will take all-out preparation for the voting. Any type of chaos or anarchy at the time will not be acceptable. The attacks must be brought down to zero. Arrests and charges against the opposition must be stopped.

This does not mean that the law enforcement agencies cannot take action against  genuine criminals. They certainly will.

However, arrests or harassment of political opponents in ‘fictitious’ cases is unacceptable. Those who are engaged to protect law and order, must act accordingly.

The opposition parties made two serious allegations. The activists of the ruling Awami League were preventing their election campaign. And, despite the barrier when they took the street the police were filing cases to harass them. Some over enthusiastic members of law enforcement have even gone door to door and threatened then against campaigning.

In this situation, the opposition candidates find it impossible to send their polling agents to the polling stations.

The candidates have already sent the list of their polling agents to the returning officer. Now it is the responsibility of the returning officer on behalf of the election commission to ensure the security of the polling agents.

Barrister Amir-ul-Islam told Prothom Alo recently that the High Court issued a rule in response to a writ petition filed by the law enforcement about the cases filed before and after the 2001 election, saying that an accused cannot be arrested in any way until the final hearing of the case. The repetition of the antagonism and viciousness of the state before and after the 2001 election cannot be allowed. It is contrary to the rule of law.

United Nations secretary general’s spokesperson also expressed concerns about the arrest of opposition activists and opponents of Bangladesh. He called upon all parties to do their duty for participatory and transparent elections. At the same time, he reminded the law enforcers about the importance of their roles.

We hope that law enforcement agencies will abide by the law. They cannot ignore that all citizens are equal in the eyes of the law and are entitled to equal protection, as described in Article 27 of the constitution.

There is no doubt that the election is inclusive. Now, the law enforcement will have to perform duties with utmost neutrality and integrity to ensure a fair, peaceful, and credible election.