Bangladeshis stand with Gazans
Different civil rights groups and cultural organisations yesterday expressed their solidarity with the Palestinians and protested what they said genocide by Israel.
People from all walks of life throughout the country held different programmes calling on the global community to stand up for the Palestinians who have been getting killed every day since Israel launched air raids in Gaza on July 8.
Protests were staged in Dhaka, Chittagong, Gopalganj, Bogra and Munshiganj, Mymensingh and some other districts.
The cry of Gaza children echoed in the voice of the singers, thousands of miles away, on TSC premises of Dhaka University, where protests against Israel's bombing of Gaza Strip have been going on for the last four days.
Senior artistes, students and youths gathered there carrying black flags and festoons under the banner of Sammilito Sangskritik Jote (SSJ), portraying the plights of the Gaza civilians.
“Of all nations of the world, we should support the innocent Palestinian victims most ardently, because we too knew what it is like to be oppressed and fought like the Palestinians for freedom,” said cultural personality and freedom fighter Nasiruddin Yusuf Bachchu at a rally, organised by SSJ.
Cultural activists belted out a song and slogans to extend their support for the Palestinians.
Meanwhile, seven MPs of the Workers Party of Bangladesh urged the president to hold a special session at the national parliament to express Bangladesh's strong support for establishment of an independent Palestinian state and condemn the killings.
In a statement, the party said the US was mysteriously silent about the killing spree, as it was covertly patronising the assault for its imperial interests.
In a similar protest on the DU campus, DU Teachers' Association condemned Israel's air strikes, which have so far killed more than 220 civilians including women and children.
“We demand United Nations' intervention to immediately stop Israel's ruthless genocide defying world consensus,” said Prof ASM Maksud Kamal, general secretary of the association.
Other organisations including Bangladesh Peace Council and Bangladesh Human Rights Commission held human chains and rallies in front of Jatiya Press Club and at Shahbagh intersection.
In Chittagong city, Purbashar Alo, an organisation that works with children, formed a human chain protesting the deaths of children in Palestine.
Atikur Rahman Atik, president of Purbashar Alo, and Awami League Chittagong district (south) unit General Secretary Mofizur Rahman addressed the programme in front of Chittagong Press Club.
Meanwhile, Jatiya Party's Chittagong city unit also formed a human chain in the same place in the morning.
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