27 eminent citizens condemn police brutality in US, Bangladesh

Twenty-seven noted citizens yesterday condemned incidents of police brutality that happened recently in the USA and Bangladesh.

In a statement, they expressed solidarity with US citizens who have been on the street protesting the recent killing of George Floyd, an African American, at the hands of police in Minneapolis.

They demanded justice for the killing of George and highest punishment for the perpetrators.

They said the incident happened at a time when unity was evident across the world to defeat a common enemy, the deadly coronavirus.

"The world is stunned seeing the gruesome killing. Such an image of the US is nothing new, but it has worsened in the 21st century. A clear example of this is the killing of George Floyd at the hands of a white cop," said the statement.

"Like the whole world, we are also stunned and aggrieved because of the mindless killing. Like in the past, people of the US have stood firm against such racist identity of the state. And the whole world is raising their voice against the killing," they added.

They also addressed the death of Nikhil Talukder -- who died after a police official broke his backbone in Kotalipara -- and demanded  that the perpetrators involved be brought to book. 

The statement called for a combined fight against racism, fundamentalism, discrimination and communalism, and eliminating such intolerant views from the whole world.

Signatories to the statement are: Abdul Gaffar Chowdhury, Hasan Azizul Haque, Anupam Sen, Ramendu Majumdar, Ataur Rahman, Sarwar Ali, Ferdousi Majumdar, Abdus Selim, Inamul Haq, Mamunur Rashid, Habibullah Siraji, Mofidul Hoque, Shafi Ahmed, Nasiruddin Yousuff, Nurul Huda, Lucky Inam, Sara Zaker, Shimul Yousuf, Muhammad Samad, Raju Alauddin, Golam Kuddus, Mannan Hira, Hasan Arif, Kamal Bayezid, Ahkam Ullah, Tarik Sujat and Tarana Halim.