Number of deaths mounting

THE statistics are staggering. And we cannot feel proud at what we are witnessing in the form of political movement that has seen lethal violence of an unprecedented scale.              

Just to put the matter in perspective as regards human casualties, in the eleven years between the 2002 and 2013, 850 people were killed in political violence, while only in the seven weeks since January 5, 2015, more than a hundred people have been killed, not to speak of the many hundred more injured, of whom many have been maimed for life, and all ostensibly for the sake of democracy. And a large number of the killed and injured are non-political individuals. The matter has been compounded by crossfire deaths at the hands of law enforcing agencies, again a large percentage of which are ordinary citizens not linked to any political party. 

We want the BNP to tell us what political mileage it has acquired since calling oborodh and hartal since 5 January? Has the killings reinforced its demand for a dialogue and an all inclusive election? It is a tragic tale when a political party targets civilians to ventilate its grievance.

We also wonder whether the AL's policy to hold on to its position of not relenting on the issue of dialogue has not aggravated the situation further. 

We want to tell the BNP – no more deaths. To the government we say put an end to the violence and provide safety to our lives, and it is the government's bounden duty to ensure both any way it can.