Bangladesh has seen many opposition political movements during the course of our brief history, but what has been unprecedented about the one waged by the opposition over the past year has been the wanton targeting of innocent civilians.
It is one thing for party cadres to square off against their counterparts or even to target law enforcement (though we do not justify this, either). However, it is quite another to unleash a reign of terror over the general public such that the common man or woman must fear for their life.
By the same token, yesterday’s elections were not the first that had been boycotted or opposed, but they were the first in which polling centres were burned to the ground and polling officers were targeted in such a systematic and brutal manner.
There is violence and there is violence. The violence that has accompanied the opposition’s campaign over the past few months has been a new low in Bangladeshi politics and has done nothing except to damage its standing and credibility with the people.
Indeed, had the opposition chosen to argue its case in a non-violent way that reached out to and included the general public, there is every chance that they would have prevailed.
Now that the 10th parliamentary elections have been concluded, the two sides must return to the negotiating table. But let January 5 draw the curtain on the violent agitation of the past year.
We call on the opposition to pledge to take their movement forward without any further violence, and we call on the government to respond by opening up the democratic space for them so that they can see that non-violence pays.
