Tougher anti-terrorism law if need be
Confident PM tells nation after three years in office
Agencies, Dhaka
Prime Minister Khaleda Zia yesterday sought unwavering support of people for continuing present trend of success of her government in the next two years through more advances in poverty alleviation, improving quality of people's life and moving on with the campaign against terrorism."Let the coming years be years of advancing the trend of our accomplishments. Let us all become vocal against all things evil, ugly and mean," she said in an about 50-minute address to the nation over radio and television marking three years in office of her four-party alliance government. The prime minister urged the opposition to shun the politics of gambling and pursue the politics of ballots instead, as "we all have adopted the ideals of democracy as the mode of running statecraft". She categorically said her government would not tolerate any kind of terrorism in Bangladesh, be it "in the name of politics, religion, ideals or social revolution". Khaleda also cautioned that her government would not hold back from framing more stringent laws similar to that of other developed democratic countries of the world for eliminating terrorism and ensuring peace and security of public life. The prime minister said the criminals responsible for the August 21 incident must be found out so that such incidents do not occur again. She said all possible measures have been taken by the government to track down the perpetrators. Khaleda said her government would discharge its responsibility by upholding the constitution and not allowing anyone to trample the rules of running the country through vandalism, riots and use of force on the streets. The prime minister said people gave the alliance government the responsibility of running the country with an over-two-thirds majority and it would discharge its due responsibility. She said her government could not dishonour the people, deny their preference and ignore their opinions. There are no alternative to dealing sternly with political terrorism and undemocratic activities to ensure safety of people and safeguard democracy. Khaleda said no civilised nation could give an open licence to anarchy, terrorism and destruction of property in the name of politics. She urged all to move forward on the basis of reality by containing emotion and forge ahead by remaining united. The prime minister said her government has achieved much success despite relentless movements, threats and smear campaigns outside the country by the opposition and vowed to sustain the trend in the next two years. Khaleda expressed her thanks to the public for electing the BNP-led alliance three years back through a silent revolution of ballots. On the adverse impact of negative politics on life, she said her government had been trying hard to confront the politics of darkness and destruction. Reminding the people of her seeking cooperation from the leader of the opposition to fight terrorism, Khaleda said she (opposition leader) had rejected their efforts to that end and only wanted the government to step down. (BSS, UNB)
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