The dialogue drama

The opposition has questioned the sincerity of the government in offering these talks, and has suggested that the offer is being made more for show than out of a genuine desire to resolve the crisis.

The opposition's grounds for suspicion of the government's motives may well be reasonable, given all that has preceded the offer, but to our mind, even though the opposition's grievances might be legitimate, they are nevertheless not sufficient to justify refusal to sit down for a dialogue.

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What are the opposition's grievances? They make the valid point that without one iota of evidence or substantiation, senior members of the cabinet, including the PM herself, have directly implicated the AL in the bombing incidents.

Against such a backdrop, one can comprehend the opposition stance that an invitation for talks rings hollow and is merely intended for political cover. The government's rhetoric is especially irresponsible when one considers that confession after confession of the arrested have pointed the finger of blame at the Jamaat and not the AL. Thus AL disinclination to sit with the government is understandable.

Having said that, we still feel that dialogue is the best, in fact the only, option available, and that for the good of the nation, the opposition should accept the offer. The fact that they refused even to accept the letter that had been personally issued by the PM is to our mind the height of immaturity and frankly a gratuitous discourtesy.

The pre-eminent consideration should be the national interest and the will and desire of the people. The nation right now is so tense that the people want nothing more than for the two main parties to sit down to try and find a way out of the crisis.

It is our fervent plea that the secretaries general of both parties at least meet. Even such a meeting will send a positive and heartening signal to the public. All of the details down to who will be eligible to attend the dialogue can be sorted out by them.

The opposition, insofar it wants reform of election law and the CTG law, is expressly disposed towards talks with the government on some issues. That being the case, it should be prepared to meet with the government to discuss the most pressing issue of the day, the terror threat, beside which all others pale in significance.