Zahurul Alam :
Violence is use of force to impose one’s unethical will on others. It is a direct violation of human rights irrespective of its mass, scale, time and manner of manifestation. Among different types of violence political violence is in straight contradiction with democratic norms. There cannot be any logic behind terror, hostility, repression and domination of one on or against the other in a democratic system. Violence is contrary to peace, prosperity, progress and stability. None of the socio-political disorders at the interest of a small segment of vested coterie at the expense of people’s interests could ever yield any positive impact for the society and the mankind. Thus it is clear that violence against the people in any form goes against the interest of the people, society and the nation and is unacceptable by any ethical standards.
Violence occurs when there is inadequacy in punishment for the crimes, when the criminals are promoted by strong anti-people forces, when laws are inadequate to prevent the crimes or when law enforcement is weak. There are many other reasons for violence and the mass and scale of violence also differ depending on various factors.
Mankind has observed violence against humanity by the ‘great conquerors’, who invaded other communities for fulfilling their own desires. Violence had always been merciless towards the general mass irrespective of nature and time of occurrence. Modern era has seen two World Wars that destroyed many achievements of the civilization. The Second World War killed millions of innocent people. The wars and violence are always created and instigated by vested quarters at the expense of the sufferings of the people. Violence is uncivilized, inhuman and illegal act and remains in all era an act against all ethical norms that civilization practices.
There are numerous legal and ethical means of expressing dissatisfaction, disagreement and grievances. However, those legal rights and ethical norms have limitations as well. The bottom line is ‘to exercise one’s own right to the extent that does not violate others’ rights’. One must not, in any case, impose his will on the other in any manner, whatever that may be or how fair that may seem to be to the architect of that will. There is no reason why one should have the right to undermine other’s right. Indiscriminate murders of the innocent people in the name of political programmed to be condemned forever. Any political program’s first precondition should be its pro-people character and hence active participation of the people in the movement at the leadership of the political parties. The leaders and workers of the movements must lead the people at every stage of the movement to the direction that would benefit the people at the end of the day. The current program of the opposition parties lacks this essential precondition and happens to be a cruel war against the people. The people are now afraid not of the law enforcers; rather they are afraid of the hostilities, terrors and vandalisms created by the miscreants on the streets. The people’s participation, which is key to any political movement is hopelessly lacking in current ‘movement’.
Grievances should be expressed in a manner that does not harm citizens’ life, livelihoods and exercise of their rights. Those involved in burning people and destroying people’s properties, private and public, should indeed think about burning themselves as a symbol of protest. May be that act would create more sympathy of the people. All the political parties, irrespective of their ideology should work in accordance with the will of the people. Going against the people or creating terror in the society would only bring them down to the extent that they will be eliminated forever. Understanding this simple logic sooner is better than being in a hallucination of enjoying great popularity and continuing with the practice of imposition using force on the people. Not going into the details of the popularity barometer, it can be well understood from the attitude of the general mass that they are least interested to see themselves and other innocent people killed in the name of something that they have not been properly explained. The people show their back, when ignored or oppressed. The downfall of the BNP-Jamaat alliance started in 2013 with the killing of hundreds of innocent people. The people want peace and prosperity. They want a good life in a sovereign land which they are proud of. Proper and timely understanding these emotion and aspirations of the people should provide the opposition scope for re-strategizing and look for democratic means of opposing the government. Society requires peace and stability for prosperity. Development and peace go hand in hand.
More than 20 people have already been killed since 5 January. All these murdered people belong to innocent general mass not linked to any political party and many of them are from the very grassroots level. These innocent people, their families and the whole nation do not know why they had to be killed! On what ground they were murdered and what right the killers have to murder them. What national cause would be achieved by the killers from these killings and the destruction of national wealth! People do have many questions to the leaders of the opposition political parties and their intellectual forum. One of those questions is why they should sacrifice their lives to throw the 14 party alliance government out and install government of 20 party alliance? What better proposals the opponents of this government have? The people are not ready to run to death without a reason that will not bring any (better) qualitative change in their lives, livelihoods or their philosophy. Secondly, why the people should be victimized for the fulfillment of vested desires of the political coteries? The people’s movements are led by the politicians. There is none from the opposition during the hartals and other programs in the streets. The logic of impediments created by the law enforcing agencies is invalid, because movements had always been obstructed by the rulers. Popular movements proceeded always in this country violating curfews, martial laws, bullets and machine guns. The nation saw many movements at different stages of national movements since 1947. Success in any movement entirely depends on the people’s participation, not on violence.
One violence produces the other. At the political and national level spread of violence does not benefit the nation. People understand this logic and they refrain from getting attached to such acts and thus they simply remain the victims of violence and terror. How much of needless deaths and miseries the people have to accept to stop the on-going inhuman acts of vested coteries?Should democracy accept killing of innocent people on any ground! This human tragedy of indiscriminate killing and burning people must be stopped now.
(Zahurul Alam Ph.D is President, Governance and Rights Centre (GRC), E-mail: [email protected])
