AL's 15 point demand

The AL's 15-point demand is, in the first instance, an illegal demand. It cannot decide to bring the government down no matter how strongly it feels that the government is doing a bad job in governing the country. This government is a democratically elected government and any attempt to bring it down by force would be totally undemocratic. A one-month time frame is ridiculous to carry out most of the demands, even if the BNP decided to act upon them.

The BNP has now got to act because there are some issues in the 15-point demands like Hawa Bhavan, law and order and corruption are genuine concerns of the people. The government needs to assure the people that Hawa Bhavan has no influence in the affairs of the government. BNP should act to dispel this belief, either by disbanding Hawa Bhavan or proving to the public that it plays no part in the government. The BNP must also act decisively on corruption and the law and order for no one in the country feels that it is doing anything about these problems.

The tragedy in Bangladesh is that we have a totally irresponsible opposition and an equally inactive government. We are literally caught in a classic 'catch 22' situation.

I wish, in line with your editorial, that the government would open a dialogue with the opposition and resolve the crisis democratically, keeping

Bangladesh's interest in top priority. But I cannot help feeling extremely pessimistic given the known positions of the two parties.