More support to hunger strike

The number of organisations showing unity with the ongoing fast-unto-death at Shahbagh reached 115 on Friday.

Of the organisations, 28 announced their plans to join the hunger strike on Friday night for 24 hours.

‘Shahid Rumi Squad’ began the fast-unto-death in front of National Museum gate at Shahbagh on Tuesday night seeking a ban through executive orders on the Jamaat-e-Islami for the party’s involvement in crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War.

Meanwhile, Manik Sutradhar, one of the protesters participating in the strike from the first day, was admitted to BIRDEM Hospital on Friday noon after he fell sick.

Language Movement veteran Abdul Matin came to Shahbagh at noon to express solidarity with the protesters.

Organisers said apart from individuals, the number of organisations expressing support to the agitators rose to115 until 5pm on Friday from 46 on Thursday.

A press release issued by the Squad said a medical student, Jiniya Ahmed Chaity, started hunger strike at Moscow in Russia and another ‘Mukul’ at Colorado in the US in a show of support to the Shahbagh protesters.

The Shahbagh Ganajagaran Mancha organisers on Mar 26 announced fresh protest programmes, including submission of a memorandum to the Prime Minister, as the government did not meet the deadline set by them to begin the legal process to ban Jamaat.

Angry with fresh protest plans, a section of the demonstrators, inspired by the freedom fighter son of ‘Shaheed Janani’ Jahanara Imam, Shafi Imam Rumi, began the hunger strike under the banner of ‘Shahid Rumi Squad’.

Organisers of the Squad describe the hunger strike as a supplementary programme, saying that they do not have any conflict with the Gangajagaran Mancha over the ongoing protest.

Gangajagaran Mancha spokesperson Imran H Sarkar said they do not have any objection to any new programmes rolled out by the protesters.

Seven demonstrators – Sadat Hassan Niloy, Mehedi Hassan Shuvro, Kazi Akash, Shariful Haque Ananda, Manik Sutradhar, Kazi Rubayet Adnan Dwip and Nazmul Alam Bhuiyan (Joy) – began the fast-unto-death on the first day.

The following day they were joined by another four – schoolteacher Alif Pradhan and blogger ‘Safi’ from Narayanganj, Jahangirnagar University student Swagatom Saha Neel and Jagannath University’s Nasir Morshed.

Niloy, spokesperson for ‘Shahid Rumi Squad’, told bdnews24.com that five more demonstrators joined the hunger strike on Thursday.

They are Saiful Islam Sourav of Jahangirnagar University’s anthropology department, HI Hamza of Bangladesh Open University’s SSC programme, and Syed Faiz Ahmed, Seuti Sagufta and Ranjan Banik of Dhaka University.