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Poor handling of the crisis

26 August 2004, 18:00 PM
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
By Farhan Quddus, Old DOHS, Banani, Dhaka
26 August 2004, 18:00 PM
Last Saturday's grenade attack on the Awami League rally was the most heinous attack on democracy not seen since the Bangabandhu family massacre in 1975. I do not think the country has faced a political crisis of this magnitude since the early years of Bangladesh. What is most disheartening is the way the government handled the situation. This political crisis could have been averted, had the authorities used the right judgement. There was no doubt in anyone's mind about who masterminded this assassination attempt . I honestly believe that the first reaction of the public was not to put the blame on the BNP, rather they thought that fundamentalist forces were behind this crime. The BNP government should have sensed the public sentiment instantly and reacted with a massive crisis management plan and deployed rapid response teams to handle the crisis. With the independent media ready on the streets with live coverage, the government should have come to the aid of the victims. At a time like this political affiliations are no longer an issue, it is a question of serving the humanity, irrespective of political identity.

As I watched the ATN coverage of the blast, my instant reaction was "where are the police?" If the on-duty policemen ran for cover, we can still forgive them but why did they not ask for immediate back up ? We have over a dozen security and intelligence agencies, not to mention the military forces which could be deployed immediately and a newly formed Rapid Action Battalion who are supposed to be on alert anyway? Why were the investigating teams so late in arriving at the place? A coverage on TV showed a military/paramilitary personnel checking a grenade with the aid of a cell phone LCD light because they were not carrying torches?

Meanwhile, the government could have averted a lot of casualties if emergency measures were taken to deploy doctors at DMCH or if they had made makeshift arrangements like transportation for the wounded to be taken to CMH and other government and private hospitals! Just because this was an opposition rally did not mean that government agencies would not come to their aid. Furthermore, Police started to obstruct private cars from entering the blast zone to pick up the wounded ! Who was in command of the police at the time and whose instructions did they follow to obstruct humanitarian assistance during such a crisis?

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All premeditated crimes have a purpose, either personal or organisational. It could be to wreak vengeance in retaliation of any past wrongdoing or injustice suffered at the hands of any powerful person or authority or to further any common cause or objective, no matter whether legal or not. If the authorities are serious about finding out the culprits, they would have to authorise the investigators to question all probable sources who could have a motive to commit the crime without exception. It must be understood that the criminals or terrorists don't make the job of an investigator easy by leaving behind a clear trail!

It is clear from the way last Saturday's attack on Awami League's rally was carried out that it was done by highly trained people who left no clue for our CID/ DIB personnel. At least they could not get hold of any so far. It leads one to think whether the assailants were using the uniforms of our law enforcing agencies which would have helped them mingle with the crowd and also to take up positions wherever they liked!

The investigation should begin with questioning people and organisations which totally disagree with Awami League's political agenda and would like to see them removed from the political arena. The process should be systematic and long- drawn, if necessary. No perfunctory inquiry would yield any positive result.

Abul Mohsin, Siddheswari Circular Road, Dhaka