Opposition rally under attack

The police turned their ire not only on the opposition activists, but also on innocent people. Reportedly a pregnant woman was severely beaten up and a clinic was teargassed, as police committed all sorts of excesses in their attempt to break up the opposition demonstrations. It has been a sad repetition of the brutal application of force that law enforcers have been opting for while facing opposition rallies and processions in the recent years.

We strongly feel that the opposition must be allowed to organise their programmes within the ambit of a democratic culture as long as they are non-violent and peaceful. Otherwise, the biggest casualty will be democracy itself. Even when police intervention is needed to avoid a descent to chaos, there are better ways of handling such situations. The police must try to contain, and not confront, the agitators, for that seldom serves the purpose of maintaining law and order.

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Having fully accepted the opposition's right to organise peaceful rallies and voice its legitimate grievances, we would like to say that the opposition parties should carefully weigh the situation that is created by any programme obstructing movement of people. The inconvenience that people face has to be taken into consideration. How responsible or sensible was it on their part to basically create a traffic jam? The traffic on Mirpur Road, a major artery in the city's communication system, remained blocked which could only mean insurmountable difficulties for a huge number of commuters. Could the political parties think of a designated place in the city for holding rallies which would cause much less dislocation?

We once again condemn the police excess and brutality and reiterate our belief that the opposition must be given space for peaceful demonstration and dissent.