Law Opinion
The
ominous trend of cross-fire
Farhad
Rahman
Bangladesh
has been inching her way forward to democracy via the
cross in the various social, political and economic struggle.
In the process of institutionalising democracy, success
will be, due inter-alia to rule of law as a sine-qua-non
characteristic where by the govt. will be just and the
opposition party and all other citizens regardless of
race, cast and creed secure and the peace preserved. For
establishing good governance through rule of law peace
should be based on justice, civil liberties shall be protected
and the social security shall be strengthened.
Within
the span of a more than a decade time efforts preserved
for institutionalising democracy, achievement made, in
the context of rule of law is infinitesimal and insignificant.
Moreover, in the recent years law and order situation
deteriorated very badly. The killing of political leaders,
intellectuals, journalists, teachers, businessmen and
many other innocent people by the underworld criminals,
religious fanatics, extremists and zealots through grenade
and bomb attack and using other deadly weapons and unauthorised
arms, have endangered the society and social life completely
insecure. The whole country is seething with frustration
on the failure of law enforcers. In such a situation,
in last year govt. has organised elite forces in different
names to face the crisis. It is worth mentionable that,
elite forces have, in short time, arrested a good number
gangsters of criminals, extremists, terrorists and almost
all of them have been killed by cross-fire as stated by
the elite forces. This way, elite forces by killing them
in the name of cross-fire deprive the accused persons
from access to justice making the judiciary useless and
a farce.
In
the sequel, innumerable associates of the gangsters are
on the run and beyond the reach of the hand of law. Thus,
this stunt of temporary relief by killing the gangsters
is simultaneously protecting the godfathers permanently
who will create new gangsters and will harbour them for
their future need. So by terrorism of both the criminals
and the state are violating constitutional and human rights.
In this type of competitive violation's continuity of
constitutional and human rights gradually hastening decay
and doom of the rule of law and finally our hard-earned
democracy in future.
Political
leaders regardless of affiliation must remember the proverb
"No cross no crown". In our strife-torn country
when democracy is tottering on the brink of destruction
all political parties have got to continue to struggle
for justice with fortitude and unabated patience for establishing
rule of law to acquire the crown of democracy. The political
leadership must not give the chance to create a condition
that would bring sufferings of the people whereby they
will be charged of high treason by the people in their
lifetime and the posterity will spite on their grave after
their death.
The
author is a former Deputy Commissioner.
