Sunday • December 12, 2004

No-trust in BNP-Jamaat government

Millions of people form longest & largest ever human wall

Millions of people from all walks of life joined their hands participating in the opposition sponsored cross-country human wall for one-hour from 3 pm yesterday from Teknaf in the southern tip to Tentulia in the extreme northern-end of the country, expressing no-confidence in the BNP-led alliance government.

The Awami League-led 14 opposition political parties called the people to take part in the human wall pressing for realization of their nine-point charter of demands including immediate resignation of the BNP-Jamaat alliance government for its miserable failure to run the country.

Wearing head bands inscribed with various anti-government slogans and carrying banners, placards, big portraits of Bongobondhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Sheikh Hasina and posters imprinted with various slogans, thousands of demonstrators, particularly from the 14 opposition parties, formed the human wall on a 1000-kilometre route stretching over three cities, 53 upazilas in 22 districts weaving through Teknaf in Cox's Bazar and Tentulia in Panchagarh district amid the deployment of a heavy contingent of police, BDR and the elite force Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) throughout the country yesterday.

Most of the central leaders of Awami League, 11-party alliance, the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD-Inu) and the National Awami Party (NAP-Mozaffar), which called the human wall program from separate press conferences in the city on November 18, participated in the demonstration at the capital's Muktangan wearing head bands and carrying posters inscribed with various anti-government slogans.

While talking to newsmen at the beginning of the demonstration at Muktangan, the leaders of the combined opposition said that the tremendous and spontaneous people's response proved once again that they expressed no-confidence in the government.

Those who attended the demonstration at Muktangan included Zillur Rahman MP, Amir Hossain Amu, Abdur Razzak MP, Tofail Ahmed, Abdul Jalil MP, Suranjit Sengupta MP, Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim MP, Mukul Bose, Mirza Sultan Raja, Sultan Md Mansur Ahmed, Abdur Rahman, AM Abdul Muhith, ASHK Sadique, Mohammad Hanif, Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya (Bir Bikram), Dr Mostafa Jalal Mohiuddin and Prof Nazma Rahman of Awami League, Saifuddin Ahmed Manik of Gano Forum, Rashed Khan Menon and Bimal Biswas of Workers Party, Hasanul Huq Inu and Shirin Akhter of the JSD, Manjurul Ahsan Khan and Mujahidul Islam Selim of Communist Party of Bangladesh, Abdus Samad of Gano Azadi League, Azizur Islam Khan of the Ganotontri Party, Amena Ahmed of NAP, Dilip Barua of Samyobadi Dal and Advocate Shafiqur Rahman of Ganotantrik Majdoor Party, among others.

As thousands of leaders and activists of the combined opposition joined hands taking to the streets of the capital since 2-30 pm. in two rows, the city virtually turned into a city of human wall when movement of road traffic came to a staggering halt along the route of the human wall.

Sporadic processions also were taken out by the sponsoring parties during their one-hour demonstration program that received a tremendous response from all the sections in society.

The demonstrators chanted full-throated anti-government slogans and carried posters tied to their chests during the demonstration.

The posters carried by Awami League activists had been inscribed with slogans like "Khaleda-Tarek-Nizami are the plotters of the grenade attacks", "Save Hasina Save Bangladesh", "We demand international probe into the August 21 grenade attack" and "Say no to this government", JSD activists' inscriptions included "A national government is the demand of the hour", Workers Party's "Oust the BNP-Jamaat alliance government right now" and CPB's "Remove fanaticism-terrorism, imperialism and misrule".

Leaders and activists of socio-cultural organizations and different professional bodies of the freedom fighters, lawyers, journalists, teachers, workers, students and human rights activists as well as people from all strata participated in the hour-long demonstration.

Artistes of Joi Bangla Sangskritik Oikyo Jote, Awami Shilpi Goshthi and Awami Sangskritik Forum rendered chorus, patriotic songs while workers wearing red bands and carrying red miniature flags also joined the human wall in the city.

As the clock struck 3 in the afternoon, the program was inaugurated by the central leaders of the opposition with the simultaneous blow of whistles from all the directions.

Some key-leaders of the opposition including Zillur Rahman MP, Amir Hossain Amu, Abdul Jalil MP, Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim MP and Rashed Khan Menon on two jeeps moved from Muktangan to Sheikh Russell Square to monitor and supervise the human wall program in the city.

Earlier, talking to newsmen on the success of their action program, Awami League general secretary Abdul Jalil MP said that despite repression and intimidation by the government, the tremendous and spontaneous response from the people from all strata proved once again that they no more wanted to let the tyrant, corrupt, terrorist and autocratic government in power.

"The alliance government would be removed from power through a united mass movement soon and a people-oriented government would be installed at the helm of state affairs through holding of a free and fair election under a neutral caretaker administration", he said.

JSD President Hasanul Huq Inu said that people had already given their verdict against the government in the Sangsad of the Streets and the unity of the like-minded democratic pro-Liberation parties should be maintained at any cost to oust the alliance government.

Workers Party president Rashed Khan Menon said that the government could realize now that the land beneath their feet had caved in after spontaneous participation of Millions of people in the longest ever human wall program in the country's history. He hoped that the government would immediately resign from power conceding to the people's one-point demand.

SHEIKH HASINA THANKS PEOPLE FOR TAKING PART IN HUMAN WALL

Leader of the Opposition in Parliament and Bangladesh Awami League President Sheikh Hasina on Saturday said following people's spontaneous participation in the ever-longest human wall to demonstrate no-confidence in the failed government, the coalition lost its moral right to rule the country.

Congratulating people on their overwhelming participation in the Teknaf-to-Tentulia human wall, defying mass arrests and repression she said despite the arrest of over 5,000 opposition workers, people across the country made the program a success.

Alleging police and BNP men's attacks on the human wall at different places, including Bogra, Gaibandha and Dinajpur, Sheikh Hasina said, "The perturbed head of government let loose her own son to suppress the mass movement."

To foil the human-wall showdown, she alleged, attacks were launched at the instruction of the Prime Minister's son on the Awami League office and lawyers' procession in Bogra, on Awami League workers in Dinajpur and attack in Muradnagar in Comilla.

"Such repression can't subdue the masses rising to realize their demands," the Awami League President said, adding that people want to see the government quit and want to get rid of price-hike, terrorism, killing and corruption.

She urged the people to carry forward the success of the mass human wall and intensify the movement towards its logical end.

ABDUL JALIL MP CONDEMNS ATTACKS ON PEACEFUL HUMAN CHAIN

Talking to newsmen at the Awami League's central office immediately after the demonstration program was over, some central leaders of the Awami League, including Abdul Jalil MP, alleged that over 150 demonstrators belonging to his party and other parties in the combined opposition, suffered injuries in the police action and attack by the armed hooligans of the ruling alliance in Bogra, Natore, Gaibandha, Comilla and other places.

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