[mukto-mona] Re: [Progressive-Muslim] FW: Peaceful National Hartal and its Lessons--editorial

By observing Hartal the opposition has been losing sympathy of the people. Hartal is destroying the country's economy and making people annoyed. Hartal is losing what it wants to achieve - peoples' support.

 

Hartal means strike. Strike can be called only if supported by majority people. Before calling hartal opposition should conduct a poll and and go by the results of the poll. I am sure, there will  hardly be any support for Hartal. It only anagonises people. Opposition should  seriously think about it. By calling hartal they disirupt everyting and this cannot earn support of the people. This is as simple as that.

 

If they really want to test peoples' mind, let them call hartal but allow those who want to go to wark places, go to educational institutions, allow transport to run etc. This will enable them to find out how sponteneous the hartals are.

 

Instead of hartal Opposition should do the following:

 Human Chain with written placard in prominent places. This will be more effective as all TV and newspapaers cover these events and people will see the issues brought out by opposition.

 

Silent processions without blocking roads. This is done in the foreign countries. They should learn from them.

 

Long march highlighting opposition points.

 

Such peaceful opposition behavior will send the message to people well and people will see, appreciate and feel that Opposition mean well and will do well for the country.

There are many other ways to send messages. One can suggest those.

Muslehuddin Ahmad

 

 

 

On Fri, Sep 23, 2011 at 8:50 AM, S A Hannan <sahannan@sonarbangladesh.com> wrote:

 

 

 

Peaceful National Hartal and its Lessons

 

Daily star and other dailies have reported that yesterday's 11-hour hartal called by BNP and its allies was relatively peaceful with no major incidents of violence.Police virtually cordoned off the BNP central office at Naya Paltan since the morning while nobody was found in Jamaat-e-Islami central office in the capital. They also prevented opposition supporters from bringing out processions or demonstrating against the government. Presence of opposition men on the streets was very thin yesterday while ruling Awami League and its associated bodies brought out anti-hartal processions in the capital.Mobile courts sentenced five people to jail in the city and fined them too on different terms in connection with "trying to create anarchy", police said, adding that 20 others were also arrested yesterday in the capital. Police headquarters sources said around 200 people were arrested nationwide.Schools and businesses remained closed countrywide during the hartal called to protest the recent hike in fuel prices, the share market scam and repression on opposition activists.

 BNP thanked people for "observing the hartal spontaneously" and announced further nationwide demonstration programmes for Saturday to protest arrests and attacks on opposition supporters in connection with observing yesterday's hartal.At a press briefing in the BNP central office, party acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir claimed that cadres of the ruling Awami League killed BNP leader Farid Joarder, also a schoolteacher, at Gournadi of Barisal yesterday. He claimed that at least 500 BNP activists, including 130 in the capital, were arrested and 450 workers were injured since Tuesday. Transport to and from Dhaka was almost suspended but some buses ran on city streets. The law enforcers resisted hartal supporters whenever they tried to bring out any procession or stage demonstrations. In front of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban, law enforcers obstructed a procession brought out by BNP lawmakers in the morning. BNP activists brought out another procession on Green Road which also faced police resistance.Jamaat-e-Islami, a key component of the four-party alliance, tried to bring out a procession in Motijheel area around 10:30am but police failed it and picked up two Jamaat men.

On Sunday, the government raised prices of diesel, kerosene, petrol and octane by Tk 5 a litre, and furnace oil by Tk 8, with effect from Sunday midnight. The price of compressed natural gas (CNG) was also raised a day later by Tk 5 per unit with effect from Monday midnight. BNP and its allies declared a 12- hour hartal for yesterday on Tuesday protesting this but they reduced it by an hour mentioning "unavoidable circumstances". Awami League said that Hartal has been called to frustrate trial of war criminals.

We feel relieved that hartal was observed relatively peacefully despite Awami League cadre confrontations. Police did not allow picketing though this is also a democratic right.Awami League and government ministers have said that hartal was called in reality to frustrate war crime trial not for fuel price raise. They also said that BNP backed Jamaat in this matter. If so the peaceful and complete Hartal proves that so-called war crime trial has no support among people. In any case government should realize public mood and change its present course on controversial issues.

__._,_.___

****************************************************
Mukto Mona plans for a Grand Darwin Day Celebration: 
Call For Articles:

http://mukto-mona.com/wordpress/?p=68

http://mukto-mona.com/banga_blog/?p=585

****************************************************

VISIT MUKTO-MONA WEB-SITE : http://www.mukto-mona.com/

****************************************************

"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

Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___