Committed to PEOPLE'S RIGHT TO KNOW Vol. 5 Num 106 Wed. September 08, 2004       Letters to Editor AL rally Kh. Asef Safa Kabir Upal, Dhaka The grenade attack on the AL rally has revealed Bangladesh's vulnerability. We had incidence many bomb attacks, but the carnage of Bangabandhu Avenue was deadlier than the previous ones. It has made us question the future of democracy in our country. Previously most of the targets were various cultural activities and places entertainment such as the Udichi function, Bangla New Year celebration at Ramna and attacks on several cinema halls throughout the country. These places could have been the targets of the religious fundamentalists to whom these are ant-Islamic activities. Shaikh Hasina and the AL leaders were critical of these fundamentalists which might have provoked them to perpetrate these attacks. They also attacked the British High Commissioner in Sylhet. I guess it's because these people are against British presence in Iraq as well. If we look at the present world scenario, we see that guerrilla activities are proliferating in Asia. After the expulsion of the Taliban from Afghanistan, Bangladesh can easily be the next target of the Islamic extremists including AL-Qaeda. Already fundamentalist forces are active in Bangladesh. If they can get some external co-operations they would undoubtedly go for bigger operations. The attack on Humayun Azad early this year was a definite sign of their gaining momentum. While we are busy fighting each other, external powers are taking advantage of our internal conflicts. Politicians should realise this to confront the dilemma unitedly. It is certain that whoever these people are, their main objective is to exterminate our culture and politics in order eventually to rule over us. We can't let it happen. . PHOTO: AFP