Hartal for war criminals fails

Demonstrators in Shahbagh in the capital hoist black flags yesterday protesting the hartal called by Jamaat-e-Islami, demanding death penalty for all war criminals and to mourn fellow protester Rajib who was hacked to death Friday night. Photo: Anisur Rahman

The Shahbagh demonstrators thanked and congratulated the people of the country for responding to their call to defy yesterday's countrywide dawn-to-dusk hartal called by the Jamaat-e-Islami.
As the nonstop movement entered its 14th day yesterday, protesters hoisted a black flag in the memory of the three people "killed in Jamaat-Shibir's recent attack across the country".
They also wore black badges in protest against Friday's murder of blogger and Shahbagh movement activist Rajib Haidar. Family members and protesters allege Jamaat-Shibir men killed the 33-year-old architect for being vocal about war crimes trial.
Of the other two victims, Zafar Munshi, 47, a liftman at Agrani Bank, was attacked in the capital on February 13 by Shibir activists. He died the following day. In Chittagong, Bahadur Hossain, 55, died on February 14 after being beaten by Jamaat-Shibir men during hartal hours on February 6.
In solidarity with the Shahbagh protesters, people across the country wore black badges while educational institutions hoisted black flags to honour the three dead.
From the protest venue, the organisers called for a grand rally at 3:00pm on February 21, the third of its kind since the protest began on February 5 demanding capital punishment to all war criminals.
They also called upon the people to write letters commemorating the martyrs of the Liberation War and tie those with balloons and release in the air at 4:13pm tomorrow, the moment the Pakistani forces surrendered on 16 December 1971.
In the morning, the protesters also brought out an anti-hartal procession under the banner of "Gono Jagaron Mancha," urging people to resist the shutdown. Starting from the protest venue, the procession marched through New Elephant road, Science Lab, Russell Square, Panthapath, Karwan Bazar and Banglamotor and ended at Shahbagh.
Throughout the day, protesters chanted various anti-hartal slogans like “Jamaat er hartal, Shahbagh mane na” (Shahbagh rejects Jamaat's hartal) and “Oboidho hartal, Shahbagh manena” (Shahbagh rejects the illegitimate hartal).
The Jamaat enforced the shutdown protesting the ongoing war crimes trial against its top leaders and the death of its three activists during clashes with police in Cox's Bazar on Friday.
“The people of this country do not accept hartals called by war criminals and fundamentalists,” said an organiser to loud cheers from the crowd. People will no longer tolerate the bigotry and violent activities of Jamaat-Shibir, cried the protesters in unison.
But grief descended on Shahbagh in the afternoon at the untimely death of a protester, Tariqul Islam Shanto, who had a heart attack while partaking in the movement.
The protesters observed a one-minute silence in remembrance of the departed soul in the evening.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith and Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid went to the protest venue to express solidarity.
Describing himself as lucky to be witnessing something of such magnitude in his advanced age, Muhith congratulated the youths. He also compared the Shahbagh movement to the mass movement of 1969, Liberation War of 1971 and the movement against Ershad's autocratic regime in the 1990s.
About 200 teachers of Dhaka University joined the protest in the morning to express their support, said Prof Akhteruzzaman of Islamic history and culture department.
In the afternoon, around a hundred artists took part in the protest and announced their decision to boycott all the media houses linked with Jamaat.
Student leaders from different organisations gave speeches in the morning while protest songs and poetry recitation continued throughout the day.
Writ in spring flowers and candles on the streets was, “3,00,000 + 1” to denote the lives lost in the 1971 war and that of Rajib Haidar.