Upholding fundamental, democratic rights
Thursday, 22 July 2010
Imran Sohail
The programme for a day's hartal last month by the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) drew flak from various quarters as unwarranted. The ruling grand alliance described it as designed to hurt the economy and the basic rights of people to movement. But what do these disapprovers of hartal now have to say about what members of law enforcement bodies did recently to prevent the 'human chain' programme organised by the opposition political parties?
The human chain or protestors holding hands and forming chains like human formation on roads sides and standing there for some time to peacefully protest something as wrong perceived by them, is a standard democratic practice in most countries of the world. It is fully consistent with the universally upheld rights of peaceful assembly and protest . None can have anything against such a pacific form of protest.
But our policemen -- surely backed up by some political vested interest groups -- would have none of it. They prevented with physical force even attempts of those who arrived to hold hands and form a chain from Gabtali to Jatrabari in Dhaka city. The police action was no different elsewhere in the country. Rather they attacked those who wanted to assemble mainly for this symbolic but entirely peaceful form of protest. According to media reports at least one person died and about 100 were injured from police actions on the occasion. If the human chain could be linked to any kind of violence to be committed by its organisers threatening to destroy public or private properties or disrupting normal life, then such actions would be justified. In the absence of any such grounds, the police's actions must look oppressive.
Deliberately oppressive or suppressive actions of this type without any sanction for the same on legal or any other grounds, do not serve the purpose of winning the confidence of the opposition or getting their cooperation for the establishment political stability in the country. The same also only tars the image of the country as one where actual democratic norms are yet to be observed. The people in Bangladesh have struggled hard for many years to achieve democracy and enjoy the fruits of it. They did not make the sacrifices for an order with only the trappings of democracy, devoid of the vital practices that make democracy work.
The programme for a day's hartal last month by the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) drew flak from various quarters as unwarranted. The ruling grand alliance described it as designed to hurt the economy and the basic rights of people to movement. But what do these disapprovers of hartal now have to say about what members of law enforcement bodies did recently to prevent the 'human chain' programme organised by the opposition political parties?
The human chain or protestors holding hands and forming chains like human formation on roads sides and standing there for some time to peacefully protest something as wrong perceived by them, is a standard democratic practice in most countries of the world. It is fully consistent with the universally upheld rights of peaceful assembly and protest . None can have anything against such a pacific form of protest.
But our policemen -- surely backed up by some political vested interest groups -- would have none of it. They prevented with physical force even attempts of those who arrived to hold hands and form a chain from Gabtali to Jatrabari in Dhaka city. The police action was no different elsewhere in the country. Rather they attacked those who wanted to assemble mainly for this symbolic but entirely peaceful form of protest. According to media reports at least one person died and about 100 were injured from police actions on the occasion. If the human chain could be linked to any kind of violence to be committed by its organisers threatening to destroy public or private properties or disrupting normal life, then such actions would be justified. In the absence of any such grounds, the police's actions must look oppressive.
Deliberately oppressive or suppressive actions of this type without any sanction for the same on legal or any other grounds, do not serve the purpose of winning the confidence of the opposition or getting their cooperation for the establishment political stability in the country. The same also only tars the image of the country as one where actual democratic norms are yet to be observed. The people in Bangladesh have struggled hard for many years to achieve democracy and enjoy the fruits of it. They did not make the sacrifices for an order with only the trappings of democracy, devoid of the vital practices that make democracy work.