Now, it's a strike call for port city

As a matter of fact, police action against opposition activists has been extensively covered by the media; hence, the public are far too well-aware of the goings-on to be retold through an exclusive hartal in Chittagong. The issue has been very much under national focus from the beginning. There is very little doubt that the common people remain outraged over the uncalled for police heavy-handedness.

We also have, many times in the past, voiced our condemnation against denial of democratic space to the opposition. We have repeatedly said that not allowing anyone to express dissent is a mockery of democracy. In spite of all these, we wonder why, and on what ground, did the opposition parties of Chittagong deem it appropriate to force another long spell of hartal on the Chittagonians.

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

No one knows better than them the implications such complete stoppage has on the economy. It basically brings to the fore the illogicality of hartals as such. For example, cargo handling in the port is already on the verge of collapse, and according to reports, container congestion has reached a record high, thereby upsetting the timetables of importers and exporters, not to mention the financial losses they will incur in consequence. Particularly, the readymade garments sector, which is already under threat in the post-MFA situation, is likely to suffer even more in such unstable and uncertain circumstances.

All we want to say is why take out the anger due to government excesses and police actions on business and commerce, on top of causing hardship to common people? It is entirely unacceptable and totally repugnant to economic sensibilities. We believe that a joint statement by the opposition parties condemning the police actions would have been prudent and garnered more public support to their cause.