Shahbagh mass rally Feb 21

Protesters at Shahbagh on Monday announced a mass rally at the Ganajagaran Mancha on Feb 21, the International Mother Language Day.

Imran H Sarker, one of the organisers of the unprecedented uprising, said the rally will take place at 3pm.

He also said they will press ahead with their nonstop sit-in demonstrations.

The protesters also called on educational institutions across Bangladesh to sing songs dedicated to the memory of the language martyrs at 3pm on Feb 21 at all Shaheed Minars.

Sarker demanded that all institutions build Shaheed Minars before the programme.

They also called for releasing balloons in the sky at 4:13pm on Feb 20 in the memory of the martyrs of the 1971 War of Liberation. Every citizen has been urged to write letters to at least one of the martyrs and tag them with the balloons.

The demonstrators chose the particular time as the Pakistan army on Dec 16, 1971 signed the surrender document at that time.

The Ganajagaran Mancha also expressed grief at the death of cartoonist Tariqul Islam Shanto who passed away after expressing solidarity.

They requested everyone to take part in the Namaj-e-Janaza of Shanto scheduled for 11am Tuesday at the Dhaka University central mosque.

The mass uprising rolled into the 14th day on Monday demanding death penalty for all ‘war criminals’ standing trial. The International Crimes Tribunal-2 on Feb 5 sentenced Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdul Quader Molla to life in prison for crimes against humanity during Bangladesh’s struggle for freedom.

The government has amended the International Crimes Tribunal Act, under which war crimes trials are being conducted.

The new amendment gives equal opportunity to both the prosecution and the defence to appeal against any verdict. It includes a provision which allows the trial of organisations or parties on war crimes charges.

The protesters also urged those appearing on television talk shows using Ganajagaran Mancha’s name to maintain caution.

“This is creating confusions. We would like to request the media to talk to the media cell first if they want to invite any of the organisers of the Ganajagaran Mancha to their talk shows.”

About the financial supports for the pro-liberation activists demonstrating at Shahbagh, Sarker said: “We aren’t taking any money on behalf of the Mancha. Many kind-hearted persons are helping us by providing food.”

He also urged the people to catch and hand over to police if anyone collects any fund using the name of Mancha.

The organisers from last Friday’s grand rally had announced that they would hold a daily vigil from 3pm to 10pm. But they decided on a nonstop movement after one of their leading activists was killed by unknown assailants in Pallabi the same night and the Jamaat called a nationwide dawn-to-dusk shutdown for Monday.