Dhaka signs on

It is about time. The fact of the matter is that for Bangladesh terrorism is not merely a distant threat. This is no academic exercise on our part to show good faith and signal that we are a conscientious member of the international community with concern for the problems of others.

Terrorism being no respecter of national boundaries is perhaps the biggest single problem that the world faces right now. By signing up to the anti-terrorism conventions, the government is signaling that its commitment to fighting terrorism in all its manifestations in accord with UN principles and under its aegis remains unwavering.

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It should be helpful to us here in Bangladesh as well. We remain woefully unprepared to deal with the scourge of terrorism. Signing on to the conventions should help with capacity building and information sharing, and help us to formulate a workable programme to combat the threat. The government still has apparently no clue as to the perpetrators of the August 21 massacre, and other investigations into terrorist activities seem to be going nowhere. Perhaps now both the will and the means to get to the bottom of the problem will begin to emerge.

Let this merely be the first step. The government must use the signing as a spring-board to begin aggressively tackling the menace. The fear of terrorist attack cannot be permitted to stalk the country.

Now is the time for the government to take further steps to reverse the perception, both inside the country and abroad, that it is not concerned with addressing the issue, and prove that it is serious about turning things around.