As media people conscious of our responsibility to society, as citizens cognizant of the need to promote, support and encourage measures toward a promotion of the public weal, we acknowledge and hail the war on drugs and the peddlers of drugs Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has launched in the country. The damage that drugs have been causing to the young cannot be ignored, for the good reason that they have proved pernicious in the lives of a generation that is expected to succeed ours in the times ahead. That the Prime Minister has been drawing attention to the menace, that she has spoken about it before the law enforcers and other sections of society is a reflection, as she sees it and as we see it, of the lengthening tentacles of the drug lords across civilized, normal and healthy existence in Bangladesh. Indeed, the war on drugs is a necessary second phase in the efforts of the Prime Minister and her government to restore this land to the template of purposeful collective life in the interest of the future. In recent times, Sheikh Hasina's determination to follow through on her programme of zero tolerance of religious militancy and terrorism has been yielding results. Not long ago, indeed only months ago, following the brutalities committed by bigots driven by a crude philosophy of religious intolerance at Holey Artisan Bakery and then attempting a similar misdeed at Sholakia, the feeling grew among citizens and among people abroad that Bangladesh and its government had come into the grip of terror and would certainly remain trapped in it for a long time to come. That has not happened. What has surely happened is the adoption of a policy and a definitive implementation of it. The policy was aimed at rolling back terrorism. The implementation of the policy followed immediately. In these past many months, the determination with which the law enforcers and the security agencies have zeroed in on the purveyors of terror and busted their dens in the nation's capital and elsewhere has proved a fundamental truth --- that this country, its citizens and its government are on top of the situation. No one can commit terrorism and get away with it. No one can conspire to put society to the torch and not expect to be caught in the act and dealt with by the State. Today, even as we remain busy flushing out the remnants of terrorism, it becomes our collective job in light of the prime ministerial declaration, to identify and bring to justice those elements of the dark who have been pushing the young to the malady of drugs use. Of the seven million addicts in the country, as many as three million use drugs on a regular basis. It is not hard to find those who indulge in this nefarious business of peddling drugs and thereby enriching themselves enormously. Among these elements are people belonging to political parties, to shady businesses, to syndicates that promote a vicious programme of undermining the natural vitality of our young population. The menace, let it be noted, affects all sections --- the affluent and the poor, the upper class as well as the middle class --- of the young. While the relatively affluent may be restored to normal life through family efforts expenditure-wise, the picture is indeed grim for those young men and women whose roots are with families trying to eke out a living on low income. It is these young men from underprivileged or not so privileged homes who run the risk of not coming back to normal, decent life. Unless the war on drugs targets these misguided and exploited young, unless the machinery of the State is applied to hauling in those behind this dangerous and sinister business --- and many of these drug lords engage in the business in connivance with corrupt elements among the law enforcing agencies of the State --- we will not be assured of the beautiful future we would like to see come over our young people. Will it then be any surprise to see today's drug addicts becoming tomorrow's hardened criminals? Drugs are a million-dollar business and too many people have enriched themselves by inducing the young into ruining their innocent lives through drug intake. It is time to call a halt to these nefarious activities. And whoever may be involved in it, no matter how highly placed, no matter how close to the powers that be, he or she must face justice. Let a new phase of zero tolerance, this time against drugs and their patrons, be inaugurated and enforced.
It is time for us, citizens of this republic, to get back our country. If we can defeat militancy, if we can achieve food autarky, if we can bring war criminals to justice, if we can go ahead with protecting our environment in line with our requirements, there is little reason why we cannot win the war against drugs. The Philippines is engaged, in its own way, in a war against drugs. In Colombia, ceaseless have been the operations against drugs. In Bangladesh, we can go for similar action. We can do better. The Prime Minister has our full support in this new war against drugs, against drug barons. She has our unstinted backing in this struggle. The law is above all. Justice is a fundamental underpinning of governance. Let us make sure both these principles are restored --- swiftly, surely and purposefully, in our lives.
