Editorial
Incitement for chaos
Govt must respond forcefully to threats
We are shocked and outraged that the leaders of the self-styled Islamic Law Implementation Committee, headed by IOJ chief Fazlul Huq Amini, would be so brazen and audacious as to throw a direct challenge to the government of the day and to threaten the peace of the nation if their agenda for withdrawing certain provisions of the new 'Women Development Policy' is not enacted.
The only thing that would astonish us more would be if the government failed to stand up to this blatant challenge to its authority and to public order. Indeed, this is not the first time that Messrs Amini and company have both threatened and fomented violence in order to advance their dubious cause. So far, the government has treated them with kid gloves. The result is that they have grown in their impudence and audacity. The government must move against them immediately and decisively if it does not wish to be seen as a mute bystander and to run the risk of a social conflict that would endanger the peace of the entire country.
The statements made by the committee leaders at the Engineers Institute on Sunday were a direct threat to the nation and cannot go unanswered. When speakers threaten to immobilise the nation, is it not a threat to public order? When they vow to bring violent demonstrations in the street, is it not a breach of the emergency regulations? When they threaten violence if their narrow agenda is not enacted, is it not a violation of all of our rights?
In fact, Mr. Amini went further still. His call to the armed forces to withdraw their support for the government is tantamount to a call for mutiny, and quite possibly could be considered seditious. Mr. Amini has, in effect, incited violence and unrest with a view to toppling the government. This is unacceptable and demands the strongest possible response. No government can afford to tolerate such contemptible and contemptuous behaviour.
In conclusion, we only point out the obvious that, as well as being unlawful, the speakers' statements were also reprehensible. Who gives them the right to speak on Islam as if they are the sole authority on the beloved religion of the vast majority of Bangladeshis? That they would dare to try to dignify their vile threats, incitement to violence, and intimidation of the public in the name of this great religion, makes their statements and conduct all the more reprehensible.
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