Beginning with a highly controversial dismissal of a gazette notification on government job quotas by a high court bench on 5 June - countrywide student protests have now turned into a mass uprising with a single point demand. Protestors are no longer restricted among students rather they have included peoples from all walks of life in their non-cooperation movement from Sunday. And they have unanimously rejected Prime Minister's invitation for holding dialogue for de-escalation. Now they all demand Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to step down from office.
However, today the students' led movement enters its second month, agonizingly walking over nearly 300 reported deaths, countless injuries, thousands put behind bars, thousands of cases filed with public properties worth millions of dollars left vandalised.
This is not what we had expected.
In particular, it was disturbing to have witnessed how the government's crisis response and management instruments had repeatedly delayed and failed to negotiate with the students' demands. Moreover, unprecedented police brutality to quell protests, ruthless crushing of political dissent, deploying army and border guard members, declaring curfew all have resulted in grave human rights violations in today's Bangladesh.We have more than enough reasons to believe the government has reached to the point-of-no-return. Its law makers and ministers have markedly appeared inept, irresponsible and inefficient.
Pro-longed deadly protests, frequent internet shut-downs, destruction of state-owned properties, a long list of domestic and international condemnations have badly hit our banking, economy and industrial sectors, all at the same time.
We fear, if such toxic reality persists, the country would soon collapse.
Amid the deepening crisis, one after another door for holding meaningful dialogues between the government and protesters have manifestly shut down. And as the nationwide uprising intensifies, it is crucial for the prime minister to decide whether she chooses to hand over power to the militaryauthority, weather to form a national government or to install a caretaker government in place.
Since no room exists for a peaceful settlement or resolve the ongoing crisis through dialogues, we urge the government to make a quick decision.
The point, however, there is no time for soul-searching and reflect back at what went dangerously wrong in dealing with student protests for the government right now.No time to count deaths and destruction. No time to count the long list of missed opportunities. No time to experiment with damage control techniques.Whatever the government's next move may be, we don't expect it to invite any more carnage, death, destruction, violence or mayhem.And deliberate attempts of delay would only worsen the calamity.
We urge Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to decide quickly, without delay before the country collapses.
