Blogger murder triggers outcry home, abroad [ Tritiyo Matra News ]

Blogger murder triggers outcry home, abroad

Local August 09, 2015

Major political parties including BNP, local and international organisations including United Nations and many countries condemned the murder of blogger-writer Niladri Chatterjee and urged the government to bring the killers to justice at the earliest.
Many of the organisations also blamed police ineffectiveness for killings of secular free-thinkers, writers and activists and alleged the country had to witness such repeated killings as the probe into, and punishment of, the killers in past incidents were not done properly.
Bangladesh Nationalist Party spokesman Asaduzzaman Ripon at a press briefing at its central office Saturday alleged the prevailing state of lawlessness, culture of impunity, lack of rule of law and accountability were responsible for the murder of the blogger.
He said his party believed in freedom of bloggers, but hurting Prophet (SM) and hurting feeling of any other religion in the name of writing, was not democracy.
The BNP spokesman said the government repeatedly spoke about controlling militancy in the country and arrested some people branding them as militants, but their trials were not completed.
Ganojagaran Mancha gave an ultimatum of seven days to the government to arrest the killers of Niladri and otherwise threatened to declare tougher agitation programmes, to press home their demand. They called a rally at the Central Shaheed Minar on August 14 afternoon.
Niladri, an activist of the Mancha, was hacked to death at his Khilgaon residence in the city Friday. He was the fourth Bangladeshi blogger hacked to death so far this year.
UN Resident Coordinator, Robert D. Watkins, on Friday called upon the authorities concerned to bring the perpetrators to justice in a speedy manner, including in all the previous cases.
Watkins said police need to take concrete measures to protect citizens. ‘Moreover, strong condemnation of these incidents from the all levels of society will be important to prevent further murders.’
The United States in a statement condemned what it said the ‘cowardly murder’ of blogger Niladri.
‘We stand with Bangladeshis who reject this vicious act and who work to protect space for freedom of expression,’ the statement said.
The UK foreign and Commonwealth office minister, Hugo Swire, expressed his shock at the murder of Niladri.
‘Freedom of speech is a universal right which must be protected. The UK stands together with the people and government of Bangladesh in the face of extremism,’ Swire said.
Ganojagaran Mancha spokesperson Imran H Sarker, prior to bringing out a procession carrying torches in Dhaka University campus Saturday evening, gave an ultimatum of seven days to arrest the killers and declared mourning rallies at all units of the platform across the country, including the central Shaheed Minar in the capital, at the same time on August 14 afternoon.
Imran said the Mancha will pay last tribute to its activist Niladri’s portrait at Shabagh at around 4pm on Sunday.
Earlier, Ganojagaran Mancha organised a solidarity discussion at Teachers-Students Center cafeteria of DU.
‘The government has totally failed to provide security to the people who exercise free-thinking in the country,’ Imran lamented.
The Ekatturer Ghatok Dalal Nirmul Committee in a statement signed by its president Justice Mohammad Golam Rabbani, president in-charge Shyamoli Nasrin Chowdhury and general secretary Kazi Mukul blamed police ineffectiveness for the killing of one after another free-thinking blogger.
Referring to Niladri’s Facebook account, the statement said they came to know that the police did not take his general diary to protect his life but advised him to leave the country.
‘Because of such attitude of the police, free-thinking bloggers, writers and activists are being killed one after another by extremist fundamentalist and militant groups,’ the statement said.
Bangladesh Mahila Parishad, Jatiya Mukti Council, Sammilita Samajik Andolon, Naripokhkho, Rajshahi University Teachers Association and Progressive Students Alliance of the RU and several other organisations also condemned the killing.