The essence of the rule of law, freedom of expression and how these are to be interpreted is a matter of academic discussion. In the developing nations the principles relating to these important democratic values are not well understood. The notion of a representative government is inherently a democratic one. Under the umbrella of democracy when the administration changes the basic nature of the government should not change. Any tilt to support a new administration beyond the democratic norms weakens the nascent democracy. Looking at the circumstances leading to the arrest and jailing of the teachers a few things can be discussed. First of all we all agree that political activity in the educational institutions is not a welcome one. There was a time when the students were the vanguards of many political movements but the situation has changed. Every one agrees that campus politics has done great harm to the nation after 1971 and the corrupted politicians are responsible for this misfortune. Many promising students have lost their academic career and the nation is suffering from the dearth of a talent pool. This is unfortunate but true that this severe punishment given to these 4 teachers is not a good example to discipline the academic atmosphere but it should be taken as a lesson as well that under special circumstances a restraint is also needed. In the Western democracies when 10 people stands on the road side with placards in their hands authorities does not ignore them and listens to their grievances. Democratic institutions are built on mutual respect and trust which is beneficial for the administration as well for the public both. It's fervently desired that the jailed teachers will be freed soon to build that trust.
Akbar Hussain
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Sign the Petition : Release the Arrested University Teachers Immediately : An Appeal to the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh
http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/university_teachers_arrest.htm
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Daily Star publishes an interview with Mukto-Mona
http://www.mukto-mona.com/news/daily_star/daily_star_MM.pdf
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MM site is blocked in Islamic countries such as UAE. Members of those theocratic states, kindly use any proxy (such as http://proxy.org/) to access mukto-mona.
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Mukto-Mona Celebrates 5th Anniversary
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/5_yrs_anniv/index.htm
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Mukto-Mona Celebrates Earth Day:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Earth_day2006/index.htm
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Kansat Uprising : A Special Page from Mukto-Mona
http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/kansat2006/members/
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MM Project : Grand assembly of local freedom fighters at Raumari
http://www.mukto-mona.com/project/Roumari/freedom_fighters_union300306.htm
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German Bangla Radio Interviews Mukto-Mona Members:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/german_radio/
Mukto-Mona Celebrates Darwin Day:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/index.htm
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Some FAQ's about Mukto-Mona:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/new_site/mukto-mona/faq_mm.htm
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VISIT MUKTO-MONA WEB-SITE : http://www.mukto-mona.com/
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"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it".
-Beatrice Hall [pseudonym: S.G. Tallentyre], 190
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