The national political scene is witnessing a return of the old blame game in the wake of recent killings of secular bloggers.
The blame game could distract attention from the perpetrators, said campaigners for the rule of the law.
They said that the repeated failure to bring the perpetrators to justice ebbed public confidence on investigations.
They said that the recent killing of publisher Faisal Arefin Dipan at the capital’s Aziz Super Market in broad day light could have been encouraged by the failure to bring the killers of Avijit Roy and three other secular bloggers to justice.
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice anywhere, they said, quoting from Martin Luther King.
In this scenario it would be advisable for the responsible political leaders not to blame each other whenever murders are committed by extremists, said academicians, security experts and the campaigners for human rights and the rule of the law.
They said that such irresponsible statements could let the perpetrators to evade justice.
They said that politically motivated blame game would in no way help unearth the motives behind the targeted killing or find the perpetrators.
They appealed to political leaders to refrain from blaming each other whenever murders occur.
A ruling Awami League leader said that such irresponsible remarks create hamper and derail investigations.
On Monday, prime minister Sheikh Hasina accused BNP Chairperson and former prime minister Khaleda Zia of committing secret killings from abroad.
She told an AL rally at Suhrawardy Udyan that writers, publishers and foreigners and her party leaders were targets of Kaleda Zia’s secret killings.
Khaleda Zia blamed Hasina, AL leaders and law enforcement personnel for the series of recent killings.
The ministers blamed BNP and Jamaat for the recent killings of two foreigners even before the investigations into the crimes could begin. BNP leaders returned the pleasantaries.
‘It became a part of our political culture to blame each other for any unwarranted incident or killings,’ senior lawyer Rafique-ul Huq told New Age.
Rafique, however, said that he refuses to believe that Hasina and Khaleda meant what they said about the recent killings.
‘If they really meant what they said in their statements obviously it would influence the probes as no police officer can go beyond guidelines provided by the prime minister,’ he said.
Security analyst Sakhawat Hussain told New Age no blame game would provide any solution to the unwanted situation.
The blame game would only complicate the task of investigations and make the findings questionable, he said.
The motives behind the recent targeted killings needs to be found out, he said.
He said that the society needs to know why a section of young people were getting alienated and taking the extreme path.
Transparency international Bangladesh’s executive director Iftakharuzzman said senior political leaders indulged in blaming each other to mount pressure on political opponents.
Such statements were bound to influence investigations and keep the investigation agencies and their officials under pressure, he said.
He said that such statements could distract the focus of probes to help the perpetrators escape justice.
Former Inspector General of Police Muhammad Nurul Huda, said that the blame game would help none.
The investigators have to follow the rules and there was no scope for them to come under the influence of any political statement, he said.
Relatively unknown underground extremist groups claimed responsibilities for the recent targeted killings and attacks on secular bloggers for their alleged acts of blasphemy.
In last one month, Shiite Muslims became targets of bombing in which two people were killed.
An Italian aid worker and a Japanese agricultural worker were killed in separate attacks.
Secular bloggers became victims of targeted killings since February 2013 when Rajib Haider was killed.
Bloggers Avijit Roy, Oyasiqur Rahman and Ananta Bijoy Das became victims of targeted killings this year.
The government says there is no presence of Islamic State groups in Bangladesh and blamed BNP and Jamaat for orchestrating the violence to destabilize the country.
Source: New Age
