|
Chintito
'The
best way to solve any problem is to remove its cause'*
Chintito
The
thought is terrifying.
In every 'encounter' when a 'terrorist' is killed in 'crossfire'
in the wee hours of a fateful day (or is it night?), all his
accomplices who had reportedly engaged in attacking the posse
representing the law enforcement force had conveniently melted
back into the darkness. None of the attackers have been caught
or even known to have been injured in the hostile skirmish.
After the engagement (no exchange of rings here) the law enforcers
only got "dead" the one or two apprehended 'criminals'
they already had "alive" in their custody.
The thought
is chilling.
Before the violent confrontation the assailants were free
and were armed with very effective weapons. After the violent
confrontation they are still free and armed; but perhaps with
a little more target practice. The only comforting information
emerging out of the entire episode is that the attackers are
terrible as shooters. For one thing, they are forever missing
their target (logically the law enforcers) and gunning down
the very fellow they are apparently trying to liberate. (This
has no reference to Bush, Blair or Iraq.) These blokes could
never have done this country proud in any international shooting
competition short bore, long bore, and the story has now become
a bore.
The thought
is frightening.
Such fierce and risky engagements are certainly perilous for
men trying to maintain law and order, but fret not, for if
one starts to think the solutions emerge like the first streaks
of daybreak.
For instance,
one definitive way to avoid stumbling upon dangerous unseen
people who want to free their friend by killing him is to
go searching for the hidden weapons in broad daylight. The
partners in crime of the man in custody would then not be
able to shoot for fear of being seen. No shooting, no casualty,
no need to explain to the rest of the world for the sake of
our image how we found a pipe gun.
Another
sure shot (oops! pun not intended) way to evade the bad guys
and their firing prowess is to give the apprehended guy a
makeover, as seen in fashion programmes on TV. When venturing
out in quest of concealed arms, simply disguise the chap in
such a manner that his friends will think it was someone else.
What better and safer opportunity to discover the four bullets
when unsuspectingly the whole gang looks the other way!
A third
option could be to educate the detained man in cartography.
He could then pinpoint the exact location of the hidden arms
on a map. There would be no need to take him along in search
of the confessed specimen of crime and thus provoke his pals.
Law enforcers could follow the map, reach the spot during
the day, the friends of the arrested person would be sh _
_ scared of sunlight and not fire anything, the safety of
our men would be ensured, and there you have it, eureka!
The thought
is now public.
On May 13, 2005 The Daily Star headlined a report by its Staff
Correspondent: "ROCCA CONCERNED OVER AHMADIYYA INCIDENTS,
EXTRA-JUDICIAL KILLINGS'.
The news
item read: US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian
Affairs Christina Rocca yesterday expressed concerns at the
Ahmadiyya incidents and extra-judicial killings by the law-enforcers
in Bangladesh.
And went
on: Rocca, now on a two-day official visit, spoke at a press
conference at the American Centre in Dhaka yesterday afternoon
after a series of meetings with government and opposition
leaders.
"We
want that all terrorists are prosecuted wherever they are,
whether they are in Bangladesh or elsewhere. Essentially in
Bangladesh, we will certainly encourage the government to
go after those who would undermine the long tradition of tolerance,
moderation and peace."
"These
elements are not only a threat to the United States but also
other countries where they are active." She hailed the
government ban on two Islamist groups.
She said
extra-judicial killings are not supportable and the US obviously
condemns the killings in so-called crossfire.
A day
earlier on May 12, 2005 The Daily Star carried an item by
BDNEWS. It was headlined: GOVT TO PROBE DEATHS IN RAB CROSSFIRE;
DECIDES CABINET COMMITTEE.
Amidst
controversies over extra-judicial killings, the government
yesterday decided to conduct executive enquiry into the deaths
in "crossfire" with Rapid Action Battalion (Rab).
"We
will conduct executive enquiry into the incidents," State
Minister for Home Lutfozzaman Babar told journalists after
a meeting of the cabinet committee on law and order.
"The
enquiry will start shortly," he said.
LGRD and Cooperatives Minister Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan who chaired
the meeting said an enquiry would take place to examine whether
the incidents of death were intentional.
Available
statistics show more than 80 people were killed in Rab "crossfire"
since the anticrime force went into action on March 26 last
year.
The thought
is necessary.
Let us look long and deep at ourselves. Let us be Kingly and
try to uncover the cause of terrorism at all levels and modes.
Although armed violence has increasingly overwhelmed subsequent
government machinery, people (also voters) who barely subsist
are additionally subjected to fearful bullying for instance
in the marketplace, in the construction industry and in transportation
without a single gunshot being fired.
One way
to stride towards freedom from all forms of intimidation,
including armed, is to root out the cause. You will not be
surprised to find out (because you already know) that many
of the roots of all our problems exist in human form.
*
Martin Luther King, Jr, (US civil rights leader) in 'Stride
toward Freedom'
Copyright
(R) thedailystar.net 2005
|
