The August 21,
2004 tragedy also showed up that like eternal
vigilance being the price of liberty, the political forces who are for clean and sane politics and for upholding forever the
ideology of our
liberation war, they must always remain on guard to
successfully foil future such heinous attempts
The August 21 tragedy and its implications
Today, we are remembering the vicious grenade attacks on an Awami League rally eleven years ago on August 21, 2004, which left 24 people dead and many injured. Many of the injured ones from that attack are still suffering physically from splinters on their bodies that could not be taken out. As the motives behind the dastardly attack became clearer over the years, the singular aim of the attackers that crystallized was to wipe out with one blow the entire Awami League (AL) high command that included Sheikh Hasina. She was not in power then and clearly the design on the part of the cowardly attackers was to take her life and that of her most able senior party leaders. This, in their calculation would pave the way for a walkover in the next election for the political forces arrayed against the AL and its allies.
Sheikh Hasina, escaped the attack narrowly. Perhaps Providence aided her safety and security. But the traumatic event underlined that the attackers were the same forces of evil and great cruelty that introduced the politics of killing in Bangladeshs history by slaying Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1975. The grenade attack in 2004 on Sheikh Hasina and the assembled AL leaders was the continuation of the sinister design of those who chose to face up to their political opponents not in the fair and square way but through the worst form of violence and unconscionable murders. Also, nobody should overlook the fact that it replaced a wholesome democratic culture with violence and vandalism that can only negate the spirit of the rule of law. Its aftershocks are being felt even now. The history of Bangladesh is replete with undemocratic forces trying to grab state power quite a few times. In fact, the tragedy of August 1975 paved the way for such takeovers in the years that followed. What did the government of the day after the grenade attack do to ensure the security of the leader of the opposition? Wasnt it an intelligence failure of the most unpardonable kind? Even after the crime was committed and the nation was appalled by its enormity, those at the helm appeared to be quite content with the routine steps taken by the law enforcers to track down the attackers. The mystery was not resolved and what we witness even today is an endless trading of accusations between the AL and the BNP.
Certain matters must be kept above politics. Not only some precious lives were lost on that day, but democratic values and norms also took some lethal blows. It may take a long time for the nation to recover from the trauma of August 21. The August 21, 2004 tragedy also showed up that like eternal vigilance being the price of liberty, the political forces who are for clean and sane politics and for upholding forever the ideology of our liberation war, they must always remain on guard to successfully foil future such heinous attempts.
