Hartal is our national shame

Sheikh Hasina is hoping ( or trying to convince herself! ) that the government will step down. This idea is ridiculous and preposterous as Sheikh Hasina herself must know very well. Is she right in her assertion that Khaleda Zia has failed to run the government to the satisfaction of all? The people who rejected her decisively two years ago, after five years in office, are not ready yet, not even remotely, to go to the streets for her sake. She may be her father's daughter, but there is indeed a remote chance that the people will follow her anywhere against Begum Zia, for if there is consensus in Bangladesh on one single issue, it is that hartal is a cancer for our body politic. The AL will end up more unpopular if it continues with its tantrums that will have only Bangladesh and its people as its victims.

I feel ashamed reading reports like donor ambassadors meeting our political leaders and trying to put some sense in them. It also angers me but then the ridiculous things that our politicians do give enough cause for such embarrassment that we as Bangladeshis are subjected to.

Why don't they, instead of meeting these leaders, declare officially that they will suspend aid to Bangladesh if there are hartals in the country? I don't see any other way of putting sense into the hartal mongers.

Hartal: the flip side

SAM, Monipuripara, Tejgaon, Dhaka

This is in response to Ms Sadia Mahboob's reflections on hartal published as a letter in The Daily Star on 20 February, 2004 where she concluded after writing much against hartal that, "I have no interest in politics, all I care about is our people." Well, writing against or in favour of hartal on different pleas is also a political stance. Opposing hartal at this juncture, I believe, is not all benign or without having any motive behind, even if it sounds apparently patriotic or puritan. Some national dailies opposing hartals vehemently (other than directly supporting the ruling alliance) are published by some business houses or conglomerates which plundered thousands of crores of people's money by being loan defaulters and all hartals so far have not caused so much bleeding to the economy. If you really care about people, as you said, can you suggest effective ways and means to stop the ruling coterie from committing gross misdeeds? How to pressurise them? Think of the Fatikchhari massacre (burning 11 of a family to death) and the culprits still remain scot-free. How about Natore mayhem, where burning of houses took place in broad daylight by the supporters of the ruling alliance in front of the law enforcers (think of your parents and that your house was one of such targets).

People's lives are getting unbearable with price hike of essential commodities after the assumption of power by this alliance ( if you can believe the commerce minister then you are to disbelieve the respectable national dailies and millions of consumers). Political torture, persecution and minority bashing all have been going unabated. Opposition leaders cannot go to their own constituencies, even an opposition MP was assaulted while he was in his constituency. Even appointment and promotion of chief justice and judges were done on purely political considerations. Have such things occurred before? The law and order situation and the level of corruption in every sphere have surpassed all previous records (TI reports also recall the allegation by ruling party lawmakers on CNG import and Bogra wheat scam). With all these examples of poor governance (or no governance), can any responsible political party remain mum?

As I understand, to banish the hartal culture, restructuring of the present political system would be necessary. For example, a system of proportional representation in the JS and establishing a bicameral parliament can be considered. The speaker of the lower house( in a bicameral system) by constitutional provision must be from the opposition. These vital steps will help promote a balanced relationship between the party in power and the opposition and the syndrome of winner- takes- all would diminish with participation of more people in the political process. I think whatever we say, feel or write, unless the political restructuring is done, hartal culture might continue, regardless of whichever party assumes power. The civil society must be more vibrant in demanding such changes to put an end to hartals.