A political circus?

By A citizen, Dhaka
27 April 2004, 18:00 PM
Troubled times. PHOTO: STAR
I am shocked by the recent government action of arresting innocent people to derail the opposition programmes. The opposition should be allowed to protest peacefully, the government cannot prevent the opposition from demonstrating in a democratic land. Arresting people just because they are protesting is wrong, but things are much worse when innocent people are arrested without any rhyme or reason. It is an absolute mockery of human rights. The effect of arrest would traumatise these innocent people for a very long time. I strongly feel for the young students who were arrested. These students would be studying for their exams now, but they are in the packed jail for no fault of theirs. What would they learn from this experience? How can we expect a corruption-free society if we are doing this to our own children, our future hope. This is just one incident of many such uncivilised practices. All governments of this country have a history of human rights abuses. Every government somehow manages to exceed its predecessor in this regard. We have to do something about this. We, the people in the civic society, are afraid of doing anything because of a fear of backlash. I am not asking the common people to go to the street and protest. I am asking you to be a bit more proactive about it and do something about it. I have decided to do something about this and that's why I am writing this letter. I hope you will follow my example and write letters at least when you notice some HR abuses. You can also write letter to the locals MPs and government officials. I believe that if the ruling class doesn't hear from us, it will think that we are apathetic, and it can get away with anything and everything. So we need to convey our message. I believe that if all of us unite in expressing our feeling, then the government cannot ignore us. I promise to keep on writing as long as the senseless activities continue.