[EDITORIALS]A rush to pass a disputed bill

The Uri Party presented a bill to abolish the National Security Law in a most inappropriate way at the Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the Assembly on Monday.
Ignoring the committee chairman, who is a Grand National, governing party lawmakers occupied the podium to ram through the bill. The leader of the Uri Party’s committee members hit the table with a book, instead of a gavel, to formalize the adoption of the bill. And lawmakers of both sides tossed out insulting words, shouted and jostled each other.
It is difficult to understand why the governing party is in such a hurry to pass the bill. Doesn’t it see that the Assembly came to a standstill during the confrontation between it and the Grand National Party?
A total of 867 bills are pending in committees, and before the Legislation and Judiciary Committee alone, 63 bills are waiting. Laws that pass concerned committees must also pass the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. Now that the committee is a battleground, the bills that are not in the queue will not be presented.
It must be out of sheer audacity that the Uri Party ignores other laws related to the people’s livelihood and the economic recovery, choosing to focus only on getting rid of the National Security Law. The entire political community must be ashamed of the fact that physical force and irregular means were used at the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, the Senate of Assembly committees.
The party tries to legitimize its actions by saying, “Since the committee chairman refused to preside over the meeting, the majority party leader of the committee chaired the meeting instead.” But its words aren’t persuasive. The security law has long been a symbolic issue related to the political system of the republic. It can’t be abolished by a party just because it wants to, even if it occupies the majority of seats in the Assembly. It must negotiate with the opposition and take the time to persuade people.
The reality is that the majority of the public opposes the abolition of the National Security Law. If the party tries to remove it by any means necessary, its intentions will be considered suspect.
When they failed to block the passage of the presidential impeachment bill in March, the Uri lawmakers cried loudly. If they try to ram through a delicate issue like removing the security law, it will cause a public backlash.