“As a society we are failing to see the grave ramifications of all these”

I knew Faisal Arefin Dipan since 2006 when he presided over the first gathering of the free thinking bloggers who write in Bangla. And I have known Ahmedur Rashid Tutul for a long time both on business and personal terms. Dipan was living in fear. And Tutul, well aware of the threats he is facing, restricted his movement. He also filed a General Diary in Mohammadpur police station. But, you see, these killings cannot be stopped by providing security at the individual level. Occasionally, security is provided on an individual basis but that's not enough. The government needs to launch an all-out campaign against these extremist groups and their origin. It is obvious that there is a lack of commitment on the government's part. When someone is killed, an investigation is launched. But such investigations are often half-hearted. 

If this kind of a situation was created in any civilsed country, the government would have to resign. Unfortunately, we do not have many options available to us in our country. The alternatives are even more hostile to free-thinking. 

Almost all the political parties and groups have taken a stand against us or are keeping a distance from us. The government from the very beginning made it clear that they are not on our side. Senior people in the government have, on different occasions, said that the bloggers themselves are responsible for the current situation. It is clear that the government does not want to recognise any platform for freedom of expression. And section 57 of the ICT Act 2006 is proof of that. Anyone can be arrested for saying anything that is 'hurtful to religious sentiments' and 'hurtful to the image of a person or the State'.

The goal of those behind these killings has already been achieved to some extent. Fear is prevailing. A lot of bloggers have left the country while others are trying to do the same. A lot of writers are censoring themselves. As a society, we are failing to see the grave ramifications of all these. It seems that only bloggers and the forces supporting the Liberation War are the targets now. But what we are failing to see is that restrictions will only expand with time and there will be new targets. And that's a sure sign of going backward, not forward.