ATTACKS ON BLOGGERS, PUBLISHERS : Protests spread beyond capital [ Tritiyo Matra News ]

ATTACKS ON BLOGGERS, PUBLISHERS : Protests spread beyond capital

Local November 03, 2015

Ganajagaran Mancha called a half-day countrywide general strike for today, while people of all sections of society continued protests across the country on Monday against the killing of secular blogger and publisher Faisal Arefin Dipan and attacks on another publisher and two other secular bloggers.
Ganajagaran Mancha, the youth-led platform campaigning for capital punishment for war criminals, said that they would enforce the general strike for six hours from 6:00am.
Ganajagaran Mancha spokesperson Imran H Sarkar announced the programme on Sunday at a rally in Shahbagh intersection.
Communist Party of Bangladesh, Bangladesh Juba Union, Garment Sramik Trade Union, Bangladesh Chhatra Union and Samajtantrik Chhatra Front extended their support to the hartal.
In two separate attacks in the capital on Saturday, unknown assailants killed secular blogger and publisher Faisal Arefin Dipan, who ran Jagriti Prakashany, at his office at Aziz Super Market at Shahbagh and hacked another publisher Ahmedur Rashid Chowdhury Tutul of ‘Suddhaswar’ and two other secular bloggers Tareq Rahim and Sudeep Barman, widely known as Ranadipam Basu.
With the latest attacks, at least five secular bloggers were killed and four were injured in 2015 in similar attacks since the killing of blogger Avijit Roy near Dhaka University on February 26.
Two cases were filed on Monday for Saturday’s attacks, while the police could make no headway in the investigations.
People of all section of society, including politicians, teachers, student, socio-cultural and rights activists, publishers and booksellers, took to the streets in the capital and across the country including Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshahi, Sylhet, Bogra, Mymensingh, Munshiganj, Patuakhali and Netrakona.
They demanded immediate arrest and exemplary punishment of the perpetrators.
The booksellers kept shut their shops for half-day on Monday protesting at the killing of Dipan and attack on another publisher.
Aziz Supermarket at Shahbagh – a hub of writers and publishers – continued closing the market on Monday. The market would remain closed today, protesting at the murder.
Bangladesh Pustak Prokashak and Bikreta Samiti, the association of publishers and booksellers, formed a human chain in front of National Press Club. They submitted a memorandum to the deputy commissioner in Dhaka demanding trial of the killers and attackers on publishers and secular writers and security of the publishers and booksellers.
Association president Alamgir Shikder said that they were willing to no more risk publishing critical books.
‘We want to live first,’ he said.
Teachers, students and cultural activists staged a demonstration on the Dhaka University campus protesting against the killing and attacks.
At the rally, historian Muntasir Mamun alleged that the government had failed to ensure security of freethinkers, rather remarks of ruling party leaders were patronising the militant forces.
Progressive Students Alliance demanded arrest and exemplary punishment of the assailants from a rally on the campus.
Addressing the rally, Bangladesh Chhatra Union president Lucky Akter demanded resignation of the home minister.
Several hundred leaders and activists of the alliance brought out a procession in the morning and hold a protest rally at the base of Aparajeyo Bangla on the campus.
Workers Party of Bangladesh held a rally in front of National Press Club. Udichi Shilpa Goshthi held a rally in Bogra and Kendriya Sangskritik Jote formed a human chain on Rajshahi University campus.
Shata Nagarik, a civil society platform backed by Bangladesh Nationalist Party condemned the attacks on secular bloggers in a statement.
Dhaka Medical College Hospital casualty department surgeon Ashraf Uddin Khan said that the health condition of the injured secular publisher and bloggers was now stable and they were improving.
‘Tareq has been shifted to a cabin on Monday after postoperative observation. He is now improving, but not out of danger,’ Ashraf said.
‘The bullet that hit Tareq in the waist could not be removed, but I think it would not create any further disturbance,’ he said, adding that Tareq’s skull injury was now improving.
The bullet Tareq was hit at his waist could not be removed yet but I think the bullet would not create any further disturbance, he said.
Talking to reporters in hospital bed, Ahmedur Rashid said that he was suffering from pain in the head.
‘There is severe pain in my head,’ he said.
Some 12 policemen were guarding the cabins where the injured were being treated, said DMCH police outpost in-charge Mozammel Haque.