Bangladesh: Youngsters ask politicians to learn from their demonstrations

Bangladesh Today

The protesting youngsters of Shahbagh on Tuesday urged the political parties to take lessons from their protracted non-violent street demonstrations and join their hands to resolve outstanding national issues, reports BSS. "Learn a lesson from our movement . . . different student organizations which previously even declined to see each others face but now we are united on a platform on the Ganojagaran Mancha on identical demands," youngsters' spokesman Dr Imran H Sarker told a rally in Jatrabari area in the city. He urged the political parties to overcome narrow political attitude in the greater national interest. Imran said evil efforts were made exploit people religious sentiments with particular quarters calling it a "movement of atheists" and propagated that it was a partisan campaign, threats were issued to kill its organizers and several of them were murdered also. "But we are spearheading our campaign and it will be continued until our demands (capital punishment for 1971 war criminals and banning Jamaat-e-Islami) are met," he said. He castigated the counter protests to thwart the war crimes trial setting ablaze the mosques, temples, pagodas, torching and vendalising buses ad trains and attacking people including policemen. We want to give our next generation a rajakar free, secular, democratic and beautiful Bangladesh where religious minority, militancy, communalism words will be vanished," imran said. He urged the people to join the pre-announced rally at Suhrawardy Udyan on March 7 recalling the historic fiery speech of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on that day. He also urged the women community to join the pre-announced Nari Jagarani Samabesh (Women Resurgence Rally) on March 8 marking the World Woman Day to show that they are also doing movement for the six-pint demand. Earlier, leaders of different students' organizations addressed the rally began with the recitation of national anthem while Shahbagh Agnikanya little 7-yeared girl Ipsita chanted slogans to press home their demands.