‘Ganajagaran Mancha’ vows to resist strikes

The demonstrators of ‘Ganajagaran Mancha’ on Friday vowed to resist the strike calls given by the Jamaat-e-Islami, on Sunday and Monday, and its partner the BNP on Tuesday.

“We have made it clear earlier that we will not any more allow the war criminals to descend on the streets of Bangladesh. So, we will prevent the shutdown by the war criminals from staying on the streets,” the platform’s Spokesperson Imran H Sarker told a rally at the Prajanma Chattar at Shahbagh.

“A political party (BNP), which in various ways has been extending their support to the war criminals, has announced to enforce shutdown (on Tuesday). Jamaat-e-Islami will also enforce a two-day non-stop shutdown from Sunday,” he added.

The blogger also called upon the countrymen to wage tougher movements against the Jamaat and its student's affiliate the Shibir across the country.

He also described Thursday nationwide terror unleashed by the party as unprecedented.

Sarkar condemned the hate attacks on Hindu minorities at several places of the country and blamed the Jamaat-Shibir activists for it.

“I’d like to request my Muslim brothers to stand beside my Hindu brothers to fight against the activists of Jamaat and Shibir,” he added.

He called upon the countrymen not to violate the law.

”The government should resist the Jamaat and Shibir activists by strengthening the law enforcing agencies,” he said.

Earlier, the rally kicked off with singing of the national anthem at around 4.30pm. Tens of thousands of people joined in the programme at Shahbagh, which rolled into its 25th straight day on Friday.

Protestors came out in full fury at the same place on Feb 5 rejecting the verdict announced by the International Crimes Tribunal-2 awarding life imprisonment to Jamaat-e-Islami's Assistant Secretary General Abdul Quader Molla.

The spontaneous protest at Shahbagh Intersection drew tens of thousands of protesters shutting off traffic through this thoroughfare. The protest spread to other districts across the country and thousands still continue to hold their vigil at Shahbagh.

The demonstrators said the punishment given to Molla was ‘lenient’ and are now also calling for a ban on Jamaat.

The Islamist party had issued the threat of a ‘civil war’ a day ahead of the verdict on Quader Molla.