The first day of this week’s hartal saw 4 people killed and 150 hurt as ordinary people were caught up in the violence created by so-called political activists.
Distressing pictures have shown Rahima Begum, a grandmother, and her 9-year-old granddaughter being treated for 15% burns after hartal supporters set fire to their bus near Gazipur. Horrifyingly, they were luckier than Munir Ali, a 12-year-old from the same locality who was taken to hospital with 95% burns.
It is disgraceful that the main reaction of leading members of the BNP, which called the hartal, was to assert that the government is responsible. The suffering endured by ordinary people during hartals was not seen as a reason for remorse, but an excuse for point scoring.
Such callous behaviour is not limited to any one party, as all too recently, members of the AL have reacted to deaths and injuries caused by their own activists, in exactly the same way.
We do not think that the vast majority of people in the country either support violent hartals or are so inured to violence that they accept these types of death and injury.
Enough is enough. While we accept it may be too hopeful to expect the political parties to resolve differences without calling demonstrations, there is no justification for political violence and vandalism.
People should be able to go about their ordinary lives during hartals without fear of intimidation and violence. The country should not be held hostage.
We ask all political parties to make a pledge before the next election not to advocate or tolerate violence during hartals, whether or not they are in government.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
