Protesters to submit memo to Home Minister

The protesters of Ganajagaran Mancha will submit a memorandum to the Home Minister to reinforce their demand for arrest of Bengali daily Amar Desh Acting Editor Mahmudur Rahman for provoking communal hatred through his newspaper.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 25 Feb 2013, 06:34 AM
Updated : 25 Feb 2013, 09:26 AM

The demonstrators’ spokesperson Imran H Sarker announced the fresh programme from the rally held at the capital’s Mirpur-10 intersection on Monday afternoon.

They will march down the streets from Shahbagh at 4pm on Tuesday to submit the memorandum to Muhiuddiin Khan Alamgir at the Ministry of Home Affairs, he said.

Sarker described Mahmudur Rahman as ‘neo-Razakar’ and demanded the government arrest him as soon as possible. “Why is there so much hesitation and fear to arrest him?”

“Mahmudur Rahman is an atheist himself and is spreading the poison of communal hatred.”

The blogger and front line activist of the Shahbagh movement also tagged Amar Desh a ‘daily of lies’ and urged the people to boycott it from Tuesday.

He alleged that the media outlets backed by the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami were running on international funds as the advertisers have deserted them.

Sarker reiterated that the issues of death penalty to all convicted war criminals and putting a ban on Jamaat and its student affiliate Islami Chhatra Shibir were ‘non-negotiable’.

He also said the on-going movement which entered its 21st day on Monday had been a peaceful one since it began on Feb 5.

The first ‘Ganajagaran Mancha’ programme to be held outside Shabagh had taken place at the Rayerbazar’s Martyred Intellectual Graveyard on Saturday. Thousands of people had gathered there carrying the national flag to press for the demands.

Monday’s rally in Mirpur is the second programme held outside ‘Prajanma Chattar’. Another will be organised in the capital’s Motijheel commercial district on Thursday.

The 12 small parties, who are opposed to the demands of ‘Ganajagaran Mancha’ had called for a nationwide general strike on Sunday but their activists were barely present to enforce the strike.

Instead, thousands of people took to the streets in procession that started from Shahbagh in defiance of the shutdown on Sunday. Leaders of progressive student and cultural organisations were in front of the procession that started off from ‘Prajanma Chattar’ at around 10am.

Activists of Jamaat and Shibir allegedly used the programme of the 12 small parties as a cover after Juma prayers to unleash terror from Paltan to Daily Bangla intersection last Friday.

The protests had begun on Feb 5 hours after the International Crimes Tribunal-2 awarded life in prison to Jamaat Assistant Secretary General and war criminal Abdul Quader Molla.

The demonstrators say the verdict was lenient compared to his crimes committed against humanity during the War of Independence in 1971.

The government has amended the 1973 International Crimes Tribunal Act in the face of the demand, incorporating the provision for trying political parties and organisations alongside individuals for 1971 war crimes.

The amended Act also arms the government with the right, equal to defendants, to appeal against verdicts by the tribunals for 'crimes against humanity' during the War of Independence.

Meanwhile, thousands of people are taking part in a signature campaign at Prajanma Chattar’s Media Cell for outlawing politics of Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Chhatra Shibir.