The ugly incidents that happened on August 15 in areas around the now torched Bangabandhu Memorial Museum on Road No. 32, Dhanmondi have prompted one of the coordinators of the anti-discrimination movement to condemn those in unequivocal terms. Three other coordinators also denounced the reprehensible acts but one of them in particular went into details explaining how the excesses committed by the activists of the 'resistance week' violated the human rights and contravened the spirit of the movement they have waged. Without going into the merit of the programme arranged to resist a 'counter-revolution', it can be said that intercepting anyone, particularly those with bouquets, passing that area for interrogation is a violation of the fundamental rights of the citizens.
What happened on the day went beyond all limits. Senior citizens including women were assaulted, a few of the male members disrobed and even tied with a rope, humiliated by forcing them to do a number of sit-ups holding their ears. Such outrageous acts go against the very principle the anti-discrimination movement seeks to establish in society. Even Bangabir Kader Siddique was not only denied to pay homage to Bangabandhu but also his car was smashed. Journalists were also forced to refrain from taking snaps and some of them were made to delete those they had already taken.
August 15 is not August 5, the day when Hasina's government fell and the multitudes of crowd invaded the Ganobhaban and the Jatiya Sangsad, set the Bangabandu Memorial Museum on fire and looted almost everything they could lay their hands on. It was so mean of the invaders. The narratives would like people to believe that it happened on the spur of the moment. This certainly falls short of a logical explanation. Invasion is one thing, looting a completely different act that exposes a mind that is all but suspect. Given the opportunities, the looters could commit far graver crimes. The pictures shown on the television was nauseating and those certainly did not project an enviable image of the nation to the rest of the world. At least, such acts should have been deplored in the strongest of terms by both the coordinators of the movement and the interim government.
Had the lawlessness and looting been prevented on that day, the stick and iron rod-wielding youths would not dare what they did on the occasion of Sheikh Mujib's anniversary of death with a small number of people who went there to pay respect to the main architect of Bangladesh's liberation. On August 5, he has been subjected to enough ignominy. There was no need to add insult to injury by following the repugnant acts the deposed ruling party's student wing Chhatra League was notorious for.
These are early days of the interim government but still it could prevent this kind of infringement on the fundamental rights of the people. The events of August 5 have shown if left to themselves, crowds are driven by mob mentality and all kinds of untoward things can happen there. If such anarchies continue on the plea that people have tolerated such oppressions for 15 years and they can bear with 15 days' opposite reactions, the movement may get derailed and lose its way in the wilderness. That is in no one's interest.
Happily, the coordinators seem to be well aware of this danger. They have not only asked their co-travellers or followers to refrain from similar acts but also made it a point to identify those who acted deplorably on August 15. There are reasons to be optimistic to see that the coordinators have their feet on the ground. The coordinator who held a press conference made it clear that they are a pressure group that will continue to hammer on their main objective of creating a discrimination-free society. They cannot take law into their own hands or do policing but must bring anomalies and injustice to the authorities' notice for redress.
nilratanhalder2000@yahoo.com