Protesters vow to prevent Sunday shutdown

Thousands of demonstrators at Shahbagh are in high spirits, chanting slogans and taking a vow to prevent the shutdown called for Sunday as they prepare to resist the Jamaat-e-Islami and the Islami Chhatra Shibir.

The ‘Prajanmo Chattar’ became much more alive Saturday evening after the protesters returned from a rally at the ‘Rayerbazar Mass Killing Ground’ in the afternoon. They took an oath at the rally not to return home until the anti-liberation forces and people who use religion for business are resisted and their demand for awarding death penalty to all the convicted war criminals are met.

Shahbagh turned into a sea of humanity, with people from all walks of life starting to gather there since the morning. The venue finally got its usual face back in the evening with slogans filling the air.

The people carrying national flags reaffirmed their vow not to return home unless their demands are met.

Spokesperson of the movement’s main stage ‘Ganajagarn Mancha’, Imran H Sarker around 10pm announced that their protests would continue.

He said they would not return home until the demands, including capital punishment to all war criminals and ban on the Jamaat-e-Islami, were met.

Sarker urged the people of the country to reject the countrywide dawn-to-dusk shutdown of the 12 Islamist and Like-minded Parties for Sunday.

“Take to the streets rejecting their shutdown. Bring out mass processions within 8am [Sunday] and prove that the people don’t approve of this shutdown.”

The crowd supported his call with slogans.

He demanded arrest of Acting Editor of Bangla daily Amar Desh Mahmudur Rahman for running write-ups insulting Islam. “I demand of the government, arrest him as soon as possible, or else we will be forced to give tougher agitation calls.”

He also asked hawkers and agents of newspapers to stop selling the newspapers, which run news reports that could hurt religious sentiments.

Activists of several Islamist parties -- the anti-Shahbagh demonstrators -- had unleashed a wave of mayhem across the country including capital Dhaka after Friday’s Juma prayers. Four people were killed and many more injured as the ‘Islamists’ fought pitched battles with police.

They attacked the Ganajagaran Manchas in several districts where demonstrators had been protesting over the past several days. The protesters also attacked Shaheed Minars in Sylhet and Feni.

Police said the Jamaat was behind these atrocious attacks. Home Minister MK Alamgir also expressed similar views.

The Islamist platforms also called a nationwide shutdown for Sunday protesting what they said ‘attacks on demonstrators demanding punishment to the ‘atheist’ bloggers of the Shahbagh movement’.

However, a day after the countrywide attacks, tens of thousands of people started gathering at the Rayerbazar Mass Killing Ground from Saturday noon to join the rally there and the oath-taking programme.

The rally was the first programme organised by the Shahbagh protesters outside the Shahbagh venue - now christened ‘Prajanmo Chattar’.

The two-hour programme that started around 3.30pm kicked off with the recitation of national anthem. Leaders of several student organisations also addressed the programme.

They took oath to resist Sunday’s nationwide dawn-to-dusk strike and prevent Shibir and Jamaat, which opposed Bangladesh’s independence during 1971 Liberation War.

Sarker administered the oath at 5:20pm. Waving the national flag, people from a broad spectrum of society also vowed not to return home until the demands are met.

The Shahbagh movement, which began Feb 5, rolled into Day 19 Saturday, with a huge number of students from different schools, colleges and universities joining the protest, along with many more.

Demonstrators at Shahbagh had announced Thursday to end their non-stop sit-in protest. But after Friday’s attack by the ‘Islamists’, they returned to Shahbagh and announced to hold continuous demonstrations there.

The mass signature campaign programme is also going on at the ‘Prajanma Chattar’ as thousands are expressing their support to the call of the protesters.