Cricketers lend support on 6th day

Protestors continued to throng the Shahbagh intersection for the sixth day in a row on Sunday demanding death penalty for war criminals, including Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdul Quader Molla, and a ban on the politics of the Islamist party.

The demonstrators got a boost after some members of Bangladesh national cricket team, including captain Mushfiqur Rahim, reached ‘Prajanma Chattar’ along with Bangladesh Cricket Board President Nazmul Hassan Papon at around 1:30pm and expressed solidarity with the protesters.

Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Nasir Hossain, Mohammed Ashraful, Elias Sunny, Abdur Razzaq, Shohag Gazi, Anamul Haque Bijoy and Mominul Haque were seen alongside their captain, milling around with the protestors.

The air at Shahbagh reverberated with slogans against the war criminals, asking for death sentence for them.

Earlier in the morning, Bangladesh Premier League team Duronto Rajhsahi appeared at Shahbagh wearing team jersey at around 11am. They were welcomed with a thunderous round of applause.

Duronto Rajshahi Chairman Mushfiqur Rahman Mohan promised to keep Pakistani cricketers out from the BPL or any other form of the game in the country.

Like the previous days, students of several schools and colleges of the capital went to lend their support to the demonstrators.

Several freedom fighters, like Mohammad Faridur Rahman and Abdur Rahman, from different parts of the country also joined the protests.

Students from schools and colleges outside the capital were also seen chanting slogans demanding execution of Razakars and the war criminals of 1971.

Mahfuzur Rahman, a Notre Dame College student, told bdnews24.com,” I have come here to express solidarity (with the protest) as I don’t want to see any Razakar in our country.”

The Shahbagh intersection virtually turned into a human sea at around noon.

An announcement from the main stage said,” Amar Desh newspaper has said the newspaper has been burnt here. We want to tell them that we will burn it again if needed for trying the war criminals.”

It also slated Barrister Abdur Razzaq, the chief defence counsel for Jamaat-e-Islami leaders standing trials at the war crimes tribunals, for his recent comments that ‘It will not be good for the people if the ICT Act is amended.’

“Those who are accompanying Razakars are Razakars too,” it added.

Nine-year old Tabin Tazwan Apurba imitated Bangabandhu's historic March 7 speech at around 12.30pm, making the crowd go wild.