– Mainul Hosein :
As because of public anger and frustration against the government for massive corruption and reckless abuse of police power free election only or rigged election fully is not an acceptable option for Awami League.
The government still holds on to belief that the law enforcing agencies can be relied on for perpetuating violence against violence needed for its survival in power. That will not be helpful for the government to maintain peace and order in the country.
Awami League also talks of free and fair election while resorting to ruthless violence and police actions digging the country deeper into the morass of panic and helplessness.
Finding no letup in the use of violence by the government for facilitating peaceful election, the US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas met with Awami leaders again on yesterday to stress the urgency of resolving the present crisis surrounding the forthcoming parliamentary election.
He, like many other diplomats, urged the political parties to take the initiative in finding a solution.
What is most unfortunate is the void in our political leadership.
They cannot be hopeful about organising on their own the political dynamism for evading the all engulfing political catastrophe facing the people and the political leaders.
Peter Haas reassured the Awami League leaders that America does not support any political party in particular.
All that America supports is a democratic process so that the people of Bangladesh can choose their next government in a violence-free fair election.
He explained that the US has no position on election-time caretaker government.
By a unanimous decision of all the political parties, including Awami League, made the caretaker government constitutionally essential for free and fair election.
So the idea of non-party caretaker government to hold the election leaving no room for interference by the party government in power was a consensus arrangement.
This practice is respected elsewhere as an unwritten constitutional convention.
What is not realised is that Awami League also needs assistance of foreign diplomats for finding a way out of the pervasive revenge politics of violence and intolerance.
No rigged election will make politics safe for political parties either in power or in the opposition.
There is bound to be more violence and more extensive political turmoil in public life as we experienced in the past.
We urge the political leaders not to be so short-sighted as to be oblivious of the political dictum that those who live by the sword die by the sword.
