The Ganajagaran Mancha has demanded enacting a separate law and setting up of a special tribunal to try those involved in the recent communal attacks.
Published : 10 Jan 2014, 02:07 PM
The demands were raised in its first road-side meeting held in front of the Jahangirnagar University (JU).
The road march that had kicked-off from Dhaka's Shahbagh around 10 am, reached JU around 12.30pm. The marchers left for Manikganj following the roadside-meeting at the University's Dairy Gate.
"The political parties are trying to create an issue out of the communal attacks rather than stopping it. Separate law and special tribunal have to be formed to try those involved in these attacks," Mancha spokesperson Imran H Sarker told the road-side meeting.
Earlier, a human chain under the banner 'Agitated Savar dwellers' welcomed the road march when it reached near the Rana Plaza, which collapsed on Apr 24 killing more than 1,100 people, most of them garment factory workers.
The road march observed a one-minute silence as a mark of respect for those died in one of the most horrible factory disasters in Bangladesh.
Earlier on Friday, prior to the road march Sarker told mediapersons in Dhaka: "The road march is the beginning of our long-term movement against communal violence. Our movement will continue."
He said after returning from Jessore, the platform would galvanise the pro-Liberation War forces in places where minorities have been attacked.
Replying a query on the possibilities of being attacked during the road march, Sarker said: "The communal forces have attacked the Ganajagaran Manhca before. We do not care these attacks. We have formally informed the RAB and police for the security. They have assured us of sufficient security."
The Ganajagaran Manhca will hold four road-side meetings and two public rallies during the march.
The second road-side meeting will be held at the Manikganj bus terminal, followed by another at Faridpur's Janata Bank intersection.
The Mancha will hold rallies at Faridpur's Madhukhali in the afternoon and another at Magura's Khanparha.
After a night’s halt at Jessore, the activists of the Mancha will march to Jessore's Maloparha, which was hit by communal violence after Sunday's polls, on Saturday morning.
On Saturday, the marchers will be at Maloparha, talking to the victims and mobilising mass opinion against communal violence besides distributing relief materials.
On their way back, the Mancha activists will hold a rally at Jessore's Chitramorh.