Editorial
Commandeering land in Sitakunda
Those who have done it must be penalized
IT makes disconcerting reading because the incident militates against values and the social principles we have always held dear. News reports relating to what the son of a ruling party lawmaker has been doing in Sitakunda --- he and his associates have simply laid claim to land belonging to four ship-breaking yards along the coast --- are once more proof of the impunity with which the powerful disregard the law. As if recent reports of intimidation and grabbing of property in various parts of the country were not enough, this latest incident of a commandeering of land can only push us again into asking questions neither we nor anyone else can be comfortable with. Suffice it to say for now that what the lawmaker's child has done is a clear and unabashed violation of not only the law but of moral principles as well.
The young man and his goons have only compounded matters for themselves. They have even assaulted newsmen who, as part of their professional duties, tried to unearth the truth behind their act. One was beaten up, while the other had his camera snatched away. Now, such behaviour certainly reflects badly on the one indulging in it. But when it is an individual or a group of individuals who, taking advantage of their links with an influential politician, try give short shrift to the law, it is a whole society which is threatened with disorder, perhaps even anarchy. We have written earlier, and especially since the present government took over in January this year, of the need for the ruling Awami League leadership to rein in its followers and others engaged in deriving advantages through being close to it or working in its 'protective' shade. From time to time, we have heard of the prime minister and her cabinet colleagues sounding notes of warning to the more raucous ones among their camp followers. Despite all such warnings, sometimes exhortations, not much seems to have worked. And it is not just the younger elements in or around the ruling party who have been giving everyone a headache. It now appears that there are MPs and their families who have not stayed far behind those others in casting their disturbing shadows on life.
In the Sitakunda affair, claims and counter-claims have been made about who owns the land in question. That is beside the point. What clearly has happened is an attempt on the part of an individual to grab property not his. Which is why the law must come in. Those who have committed the misdeed must face the full force of the law. There can be no alternative here.
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