Convene a special session of parliament

Apparel exports fetch 78 percent of our export earnings and, in spite of the post-MFA quota phase-out, the garment sector keeps thriving, so that the sense of loss would be so much the greater if the new-found bullish trend in the business is even partially eroded due to any negative perception of our internal security scenario.

We share the sense of desperation, despair and urgency reverberating from the concerns voiced by the leaders of Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) and Bangladesh Textiles Mills Association (BTMA).

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Our own sense is that if the dangerously loaded, apocalyptic August 17 serial bombings cannot unite the political parties on the one-point national security agenda, then what will! We know that the several bomb blasts in the past should have provided enough motivation to the political parties to have addressed the rising spectre of ideological terrorism before it could grow into some kind of a sleeping but wily monster it has. If the early signals were heeded and a robust cross-party political will was forged, the extremist menace we face today would have been long neutralised.

It is never too late, and it's the prime minister's role that will play a crucial part in bringing about a bipartisan discussion on the issues thrown up by the countrywide bombings. There is a great need to begin on a clean slate by her, unstuck from the widely shared impressions that the ruling party had given no space to the opposition either in or out of parliament. The rules must now be changed from those of disengagement to that of positive engagement.

The parliament session is scheduled for September 8 and, surprisingly it is not stated to be exclusively devoted to the August 17 concerns. What we suggest is that a special session of parliament be held immediately on the question rather than waiting for what now is frustratingly intended to be some partisan blowing of hot air on floor of the House. This is the government's great opportunity to engage the opposition in parliament by convening a special JS session and assuring the opposition that they will be given more than their share of time to have their say.