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THE top business leaders' initiative to get the prime minister and the leader of the opposition to sit across the table for a national dialogue to combat terrorism is an welcome move. Trade and commerce have been hit the hardest by the recent spate in terrorist activities and the scenario is likely to worsen under the shadows of violence and insecurity if these are allowed to continue.
The initiative is good. But there should not be any blame-game. At the first meet the prime minister stated that the bombings started during the tenure of the previous Awami League government and since that government had failed to investigate the incidents properly, bombings are still going on. If she says along this line, the other side would say how the incumbent government has been handling the scourge of terrorism that has intensified so much during its tenure in clear-cut cause-and-effect sequences. The question is: what has it done to resolve the cases of bomb attacks on August 21, 2004, Kibria assassination, the countrywide blasts on August 17 this year, the brutal killings of the two young judges, and the suicide bomb-explosions in Chittagong and Gazipur?
The government must admit that a section of the government high-ups are encouraging or even patronising the militants. Blaming the newsmen would not bring solution to the crisis.
We appreciate the trade leaders' overture in having a meeting with her. But an appropriate political dialogue on a national scale remains a far cry. All should sit together or the business leaders should go ahead with their plan to bring the two top ladies together.
Zareen Rafa
Niketon, Dhaka.
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