Views of an expatriate

We are not unmindful of the fact that lack of accountability and respect for political leaders was also there when the Awami League was in power. But the alliance government has surpassed all previous records.

Criminalisation of politics is at the root of such violence. Each local area in Dhaka and around, including the slums, is being controlled by political hoodlums. They simply change their hands. Once they were in the AL and now they are in the BNP.

The political situation has come to such a deplorable stage that senior political leaders cannot constitute or form a 'third political force" to get away from the existing bipolarity in politics. Once they get elected, they forget their pledges to the people and they do things as they please, disregarding the necessity and relevance of public morality and accountability.

Major print news media, such as the English-language dailies, have come out openly against the attacks on eminent and respectable political leaders, while the PM was lecturing on democracy and development. It seems that young BNP cadres have been attacking political dissenters to give a clear message that no one should dare to speak against the activities of the party.

It seems to me that Bangladesh has been going around the way Lebanon did in the mid-70s. Each sectarian party had formed its armed cadres of private army. The armed cadres fought with each other at the instructions of "war lords" for their agendas and domination.

It is time a change of attitude came from the alliance government.