Consolidate the Victory Day spirit

The nation today is passing through a most difficult time. Ideological terrorists are taking innocent lives in a pernicious misinterpretation of Islam which is synonymous with peace. Bangladesh has long been recognised as one of the better nations having secular traditions firmly reestablished through an Independence war which the forces inimical to the ethos are now out to destroy.

Let us face the fact that this growing threat of religious terrorism has not emerged in a day or two. Call them religious extremists or fundamentalists; they existed in the country for years. While 1971 saw their defeat and we were able to put them in total disarray, there is no denying the fact that these forces slowly but surely have regrouped once again -- thanks to political patronage. But this was also possible, to a very large extent, because our major politicians and political parties remained continually preoccupied with fighting each other rather than recognising the danger of militancy growing by default.

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What could be a stronger indictment on our lowering of the guard hitherto than the discovery made Wednesday of a huge cache of explosive materials readied for bombing -- even the Victory Day celebrations. If the current level of vigilance were shown early on, we would not have faced the problem we do today. We forgot that 'eternal vigilance is the price of liberty'.

If we are to defeat these evil forces there is no substitute whatsoever than for the major political parties to be united on the one-point agenda to fight off the forces of regression being duly imbued with the spirit of unity that basically delivered national independence against stunning odds. In the name and true spirit of the Victory Day therefore, we urge the ruling and opposition parties to rise above the political divide and rid the nation of the threats of extremism.

This is one battle we simply cannot afford to lose. We, in the media, are ready to play our supportive part for the cause.