The whole nation passed very anxious moments centering the verdict of Khaleda Zia's Zia Orphanage trust graft case over the last one week. The leaders and supporters of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) remained very vocal on the issue of the verdict.
They remained busy in establishing that the whole process of the case was politically motivated. They said the government wanted to keep the party away from the upcoming national election by convicting Begum Zia in this false case.
Thus, all eyes were centered on the media to know what the court decides with regard to the case. In the meantime, my attention was drawn to the news broadcast in different electronic and print media of the vandalism created by the supporters of the BNP at the Bangladesh High Commission in the UK.
Being a citizen of the country, nobody should support such an act of sabotage. We have witnessed by virtue of media how the leaders and supporters of the UK BNP gathered in front of the Bangladesh High Commission there. Newspaper sources stated that some 100 party supporters carrying banners and placards gathered on Wednesday afternoon at the High Commission premises.
They shouted slogans such as "homes will burn if anything happens to (Khaleda Zia)", "we won't let our leader be imprisoned" and so on. Later on, they ripped off the photos and smashed them and conducted vandalisms there. The way they carried out vandalisms it has created a negative image about the country in the whole world.
We all should bear in mind that every individual has the right to uphold any political belief. Even every individual has the right to express their protest against any unlawful action. But, they should do it in a legitimate way. The way they have created vandalismsin the UK, is not only deplorable, but also punishable.
Thus, it is the duty of the UK police to investigate the issue with great importance and bring all the perpetrators under legal action. If these people do not get punished, this incident would encourage other groups of people to carry out same vandalism in from of another high commission office or embassy elsewhere.
The seriousness of the issue was so severe that if it had happened with any other country's embassy, there would have been a diplomatic storm by now which is not at all desirable. Even the leaders of the political parties should deal with these issues with great commitment. We all should keep faith in the legal system of the country.
It is important to mention here that BNP supporters and leaders should bear in mind that the case was filed during the caretaker government in 2008 when the AL government was not in power.
From this perspective, the BNP would not be able to put any argument to condemn AL for filing an intentional case against Begum Khaleda Zia. Moreover, Khaleda Zia and her lawyers were given opportunities to avail all possible options to establish the fact that Begum Zia did not commit any crime. But, they have failed to prove the case.
Another issue also drew my attention which is the reluctance of the London Metropolitan Police during the vandalism. Since, the High Commission Office gets high security; such reluctance on the part of the police was not at all desirable. Of late, it has been learnt that, the chief of the local metropolitan police met with the high commissioner to 'say sorry' for their reluctance. They have also assured that they would take the necessary actions against those who conducted vandalism there.
Finally, it is our expectation that the local metropolitan police would act seriously to find out those perpetrators who not only committed vandalism, but also showed disrespect towards the portrait of the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. This is a punishable offence in the law of Bangladesh.
The government should also make communication with the British Government to convince them for taking legal actions against those perpetrators. If these people would not get punished it would be a great shame for the whole nation as these people do not have any right to play a dirty game with the reputation of the country.
The writer is a freelance journalist
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