There is nothing routine about violence
Attacks with homemade gas canister bombs and Molotov cocktails, together with open verbal and physical assaults against journalists, academics, teachers and other public figures, are something of a time-honored tradition in this country and have unfortunately become accepted by society as part of the routine.
Violence as a tool of protest has been used liberally by both extremes of the political spectrum, but today it poses an even greater risk of polarizing society and splitting the country into two camps.
Fanatical or purely insane proponents of violence need to be shunned by society and condemned in no uncertain terms by the entire political system.
However, there is a certain degree of comfort to be had in the fact that the main opposition party appears to have finally realized – albeit very belatedly – that its identification with this kind of behavior is damaging to its image and is certainly not in keeping with its institutional role.
