Dhaka, Jun 3 (Just News): Police on Sunday barred activists of Ganajagaran Mancha in the capital from holding demonstrations against ‘indiscriminate murders’ of unarmed people without any judicial process in the name of ‘gunfights’.
The activists of the youth-led platform campaigning for capital punishment for all war criminals through legal process started gathering in front of National Museum.
As they tried to bring out a procession, police intercepted them saying that they had no permission for holding the programme against extrajudicial killings in the name of anti-drug drive.
Barred by police, the Mancha spokesperson, Imran H Sarkar, announced end of the day’s programme through a press briefing on the spot.
The planned killing of unarmed people by government agencies in the name of ‘gunfights’ set examples of denying judiciary by the administration and it was against the state’s peace, discipline, security and justice, he said.
But, he said, all the injustice in society should be solved and ended through judicial process.
‘Instead of strengthening judiciary, uniformed killers are being produced and killings are being legalised,’ he said.
Imran alleged that the government was not accepting the protests even against extrajudicial killings and so barred the Mancha’s protest programme.
‘The government is behaving like an autocrat….They have no responsibility for people. They even don’t want protest [against extrajudicial killings]. The way the government is going is not democratic.’
He alleged that the government was catching some small drug peddlers and the big fishes were left untouched. ‘They are creating opportunity for the “big fishes” to leave the country.’
The Mancha spokesperson demanded an immediate end to ‘indiscriminate killing of unarmed people’ in the name of ‘gunfight’.
Imran announced the same programme for June 6.
Besides, a section of Dhaka University students under the banner of ‘Students against Repression’ formed a human chain at the altar of Anti-Terrorism Raju Memorial sculpture on the campus protesting at ongoing countrywide extra-judicial killings during the anti-drug drives.
They also protested at enforced disappearance, extrajudicial killing, torture and unlawful detention in the country and urged students to get united against such unlawful killing and torture.
Addressing the human chain, protesters alleged that the government had not touched the ‘drug lords’ inside the ruling party but carrying out the anti-narcotics drive which was nothing but ‘farce’.
Referring to the killing of Juba League leader and Teknaf municipality councillor Ekramul Hoque in a ‘gunfight’ during an anti-drug drive, they said that this killing unmasked government’s so-called ‘war against drug’.
Rapid Action Battalion began the anti-drug drive since May 4 and the police began the drives on May 18.
Since May 15, at least 135 suspected drug peddlers were killed in the name of ‘gunfight’ while over 16,000 others were arrested.
(Justnews/ys/2320hr)
