Leaders of the now 47-day-old Shahbagh protests, dubbed ‘Bangla Spring’ by some international media outlets, have said that confusion is being created among the masses by spreading ‘false propaganda’ about the mass movement.
Published : 23 Mar 2013, 12:59 PM
They also blamed some mainstream media houses for spreading the canard.
Ten key leaders and policymakers of the campaign and authors of several statements read out by their spokesperson gathered in the bdnews24.com conference room on Saturday afternoon for a discussion about their experience and how they plan to go about their agenda.
News portal’s Chief Editor Toufique Imrose Khalidi moderated the discussion which highlighted inception of the Shahbagh civil uprising and the role of the information technology-based social networking sites in making the movement a vibrant one.
Participating leaders from Shahbagh included Maroof Rasool, Arif Jebtik, Omi Rahman Pial, Shimu Naser, Pinaki Bhattacharya, Baki Billah, Rezwana Sharmeen, Afsana Kishowar and Nahid Sultana.
On the matter of false propaganda, Arif Jebtik said a certain quarter opened a fake Facebook account using his name intentionally and posted anti-Islam write-ups there.
He said the movement initiated by Shahbag protesters was not against Islam and no anti-Islam speeches were made over the last 47 days of their protest.
Jebtik alleged those using religion as a means of business were spreading rumours as they feared being wiped out.
He said many of the mainstream media outlets, including Bangla national dalies Amar Desh, Naya Diganta and Dainik Sangram, were running false propaganda against the Shahbagh protests.
The discussion kicked off with a question to Nahid Sultana about where the campaign stood after almost a month-and-a-half.
“In terms of spirit, I am exactly where I was on Feb 5,” said the professional lawyer who likes to call herself a social activist rather an online activist.
Bloggers and online activists were among the first to take to the Shahbagh intersection, a popular site of civic demonstration, to protest against Jamaat leader Abdul Quader Molla’s verdict on Feb 5 by the war crimes tribunal of Bangladesh.
Known as ‘Butcher Quader’, Molla was given a life sentence, which in effect means twenty odd years of imprisonment and sometimes even less.
Among the first protesters to take a stand at Shahbagh from the very beginning, she said, “Every single person still harbours that same spirit. Perhaps the flood of people has become a trickle. But the spirit has not died. Not at all.”
The activists have also been responding to questions raised by their critics.
Arif Jebtik, another senior spokesperson who appears on TV shows, countered a prevailing notion that the Shahbagh vigil, which attracted tens of thousands if not more, was a government-sponsored affair.
“We took to the streets on Feb 5 and Jamaat-e-Islami had its rally on Feb 4. The police were there to make sure nothing happened.”
He explained that the law enforcers were only there to protect a peaceful demonstration. “It is their duty.”
A popular blogger with about 30,000 Facebook followers, Jebtik said the campaigners demanding maximum penalty for war criminals was not at all an attempt to subvert the normal course of justice. “The court is neutral and it will remain so.”
“But we are the victims and demanding justice for the murder of brothers and rape of sisters. We will naturally seek the maximum penalty and rightfully so.”
The roundtable was broadcast live on private Ekattor TV. The live streaming was also seen at bangla.bdnews24.com.
The protest started by the youngsters and bloggers at Shahbagh has already turned into a mass uprising, spreading across the country and eventually among the expatriate Bangladeshis.
Amid the heat of Shahbagh protests this month, the government has already made changes to ICT laws providing for equal scope for both prosecution and defence to appeal against a verdict and also for trying organisations for crimes against humanity.
But the protesters are still on the streets with renewed pledge to continue with the movement until the last war criminal is executed.