Editorial
De-listing from terrorist states
We support business leaders' call for PM and opposition leader to make common cause
THE business leaders have very rightly decided to appeal to the prime minister and the leader of the opposition to work together in overcoming the crisis the country is passing through, owing to its inclusion in the US terror-risk list. We welcome the decision, since an understanding between the PM and the opposition leader will certainly strengthen the process of making our case without any ambiguity.
The understanding, one might feel, should already have been there, because it is essentially a matter of safeguarding national and state interests. Though the US Ambassador to Bangladesh, Mary Ann Peters has said that the restrictions would not mean much in practical terms, the business leaders have reason to be worried.
A closer look into the recent developments might reveal that when the likely-target-countries across the globe were intensifying their diplomatic efforts to steer clear of the 'terrorism stigma,' our political leaders were busy accusing each other. The opposition leader even did not hesitate to hint at possible presence of 'terrorists' in the country. It was at least not a case where politicians appeared leaving sensitive issues out of their favourite pastime of trading charges.
The ploy of searching for a scapegoat, whenever something goes awry, has its hazards too. In this instance, the lack of agreement between the government and the opposition on terrorism might have been viewed with suspicion by the outside world.
The leader of the opposition seems convinced that her government's good work has been botched up by the 15-month old alliance government, and the government is not ready to budge from its position that the opposition propaganda is solely responsible for the present crisis. The two extremes should have been avoided and the challenge of being stereotyped faced in a concert. There was definitely scope for much better handling of the problems that arose when Bangladesh came under a sharp attack by a section of the international press. The attack did not have any substance, but sadly enough we failed to counter it effectively. The need was to tell the outside world in clear terms that we had nothing to do with terrorism, as it is understood today. Unfortunately, even on that critical question there was no consensus among the main political parties.
Now that the country has paid a price, the PM and the leader of the opposition should realise that they might not get a better opportunity to work together than by seizing the initiative to launch a unified diplomatic campaign for "de-listing Bangladesh".
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