'Shun politics of confrontation'
Speakers at a meeting yesterday urged political party leaders to hold dialogues on ways to hold a credible parliamentary election and shun the ongoing practice of confrontational politics, which are often detrimental to life and property.
The national advocacy meeting, “Political Violence and Human Rights”, was organised by Odhikar, a human rights body, in the city's Brac Centre Inn.
Odhikar presented its report, “Violence and human rights violations in politics of Bangladesh”, at the meeting.
It revealed that political violence from 2001 to 2011 resulted in 3,457 deaths while 1,24,252 people sustained injuries.
During the present Awami League-led government's term since 2009, 595 people were killed and 41,194 others injured in political violence, it added.
The debate over the caretaker government issue was leading the two main political parties towards confrontation, likely to have dreadful consequences in national life, said the speakers.
Abdul Quayum, joint editor of the Bangla daily Prothom Alo, said the country's political parties spoke of democracy but the practice of tolerating others' opinions was not noticeable.
Solutions to any debate must be figured out through dialogues, not violence, he added.
Asif Ibrahim, president of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Amar Desh acting editor Mahmudur Rahman also spoke with Odhikar Secretary Adilur Rahman Khan in the chair.
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