AL siege of Hawa Bhaban

Awami League may term this as a hasty and timid retreat by the party in power, sort of like the US forces at Falluja, but the discordant discord-seekers will be dejected and frustrated due to lack of dissonance. The government will be able to claim prudence and perspicacity. It can earn brownie points for averting significant friction and tension with statesmanlike behavior, for a change. Both sides can claim major victory and we can avoid significant turmoil and confrontation. This can be done without loss of face, favor, fervor or flavor. There will be peace, reassurance and hope for the general public.

If this suggestion seems immensely sensible, you can almost be certain that neither of the squabbling parties, sometime extremely immaturely so, such as the recent spate of competing public meetings, repeating ad nauseam the same set of primeval accusations, vitriol and prevarications against each other, will accept it, or even pay any heed. This open-minded and tolerant idea, like others, will fall into deaf ears. They would rather flex the muscles, show up, show off and show down, exhibit power and authority, display aggression, antipathy and acrimony. To paraphrase Arundhuti Roy, the author of The God of Small Things and War Talk, 'They want triumph at the cost of tranquility, dominance at the cost of dignity. And ascendancy at any price'.

In the upcoming ominous confrontation, emanating from opposition party declaring the gherao program of Hawa Bhaban, neither side so far seem to want to blink, or back out. Neither wants to heed to cooler heads or care for the anxiety or trepidation of the people. The one-upmanship seem to be more important than community comfort, domination more than rationality, control over confidence building, authority more than validity, confrontation over constructive engagement, and ultimately, show of force and power preferred over poise and purpose.

The question is, does Awami League have a right to besiege Hawa Bhaban? The democratic answer will have to be a qualified yes, as long as it is done peacefully without ulterior motive to create mayhem and frighten people. This may be a more imaginative and ingenious program, especially compared to hartal, albeit potentially tumultuous and inflammatory. If people think that party functionaries wield unwieldy and unconstitutional power, the opposition party has every right to point it out, even highlight and accentuate it. If a significant part of the general public feels that a certain wing of the ruling elite is using a building to foster narrow personal or damaging interest of influence peddling and hidden agenda, the people in a democratic society may show resentment and dissent in a peaceful manner. Rather than resorting to rabblerousing or provocative means, this is best done by the opposition party in the parliament by strong expression of opinion, conviction, protest and viewpoint.

The government does not have to react to every opposition action with heavy handed, tit for tat, reckless response. The party in power must necessarily try to resolve any inflammatory situation peacefully, act in a cool and composed manner, with extreme patience and tolerance. The penchant and propensity of the regime cannot be to treat every action of the opposition as hostile or seditious, however inane, offensive and inappropriate it feels the opposition acts may be. It just cannot confront the opposition with strong arm measures by a posse of police, tough guys and thugs, belonging to various front organizations, as it did with the Bikalpa dhara (alternative strand) of Prof. Badruddoza Chowdhury.

Bill Clinton, former US President from the Democratic Party, exposed to extreme opposition derision, contempt and revulsion, and subject of Republican Parry led impeachment procedures, once commented dejectedly, " I am your political opponent; not your enemy." We can only hope and pray that our two major political parties will come to the same realization and good sense. Now, that would be a miracle of incredible magnitude.

Omar Khasru is an administrator at a private university