This could have been avoided

It is a veritable tragedy that deadly force appears to continue to be the de facto option for the administration during instances of public dissent in lieu of a measured approach that takes dialogue into account.

As of writing, at least six people have lost their lives in the ongoing student-led protests against the quota system -- three people in Chittagong were killed in a deadly clash between quota protesters and the ruling party’s student wing with several more reportedly injured, around two people killed in the capital in the middle of clashes between the protesters and BCL, while in Rangpur a student was killed during a clash between protesters and the police at the Begum Rokeya University campus.

The violence observed around the student protests has been nothing short of appalling, but that the matters would escalate was perhaps predicted as soon as the BCL’s involvement was ensured. We have been here before, far too many times. Allowing the ruling party’s student wing cadres to run amok has never yielded anything positive, especially in moments where restraint and calm above all should be maintained.

BCL has long been a thorn in the side of the ruling party, its penchant for hooliganism and unlawful behaviour has stood in stark contrast against the government’s pledge towards maintaining law and order. In a situation as obviously fraught as a movement of such scale, it makes absolutely no sense to let student wing cadres loose onto the protesters, no matter what the expected outcome may be.

Simply put: BCL has never been the solution.

But where we would take this opportunity to express that while the law is for the law enforcement to uphold, it is simply unacceptable for those we have entrusted with this very duty to act with such wanton disregard for human life, such as was the case with Abu Sayeed, a student of the English department of Rangpur University, shot dead by the police at point blank range despite being unarmed and posing no identifiable threat.
 
There is no possible scenario where such an action can be justified. We understand that our law enforcement are doing a difficult and dangerous job, but there can be no excuse for such a shocking act, none at all.

The elections observed earlier this year were far from perfect, but at least they were relatively friction-free, with instances of political violence being kept at a minimum, showing that we can be better, that violence does not have to be Bangladesh’s enduring legacy.

The government’s heavy-handed approach to the quota protesters has completely undone the goodwill this engendered.

We are a civilized, democratic country, governed by the rule of law. All of this could and should have been avoided.