Yes to dialogue

The business community has told the leader of the opposition that they cannot any longer absorb the shock of hartals. The message is not new, but one hoped that the stature of those who met with the leader of the opposition to plead with her to eschew hartals would have encouraged her to rethink her strategy. Unfortunately, this does not appear to have happened.

However, the government also bears responsibility for the sorry state of affairs. As destructive as hartals are to the country, the government's repression of the opposition is equally destructive and equally to be condemned. The violence against the opposition and the shrinking of the democratic space in which to express dissent is also unacceptable.

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We share the opposition's skepticism as to whether the government is truly committed to democratic debate and dissent. The government's actions in parliament and their continued harassment, often violent, of political opponents seem to support the opposition's claim that there is no space for them to dissent democratically.

The government is in power. It is the representative of the people. Its responsibility to the people must therefore be foremost. It is up to the government to take the concrete measures to demonstrate to the opposition and the rest of us that it will provide them with the space to express dissent and that it is committed to democracy.

Ultimately, both sides are at fault, and it is time for both the government and the opposition to put aside their own narrow agendas and put that of the people on top for once.