In a drive carried out early on Monday morning, law enforcement personnel dismantled the Ganajagaran Mancha at the city’s Shahbagh intersection after three months. The mancha (platform) had been erected to press for the demand for capital punishment of all the war criminals who committed crimes against humanity during the Liberation War in 1971. Security barricades, a temporary media cell as well as barbed-wire fences around the Ganajagaran Mancha were also removed at around 5am on Monday. Additional police patrols were also withdrawn from there.
The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) conducted a joint drive with the police and dismantled the mancha, sources said.
“The police asked us to evacuate Projonmo Chattar around 2am and started to dismantle the media cell and other tents here around 5am on Monday,” Maruf Rasool, one of the organisers of the forum, said.
“They first took us all outside the barricades. Then they tore down the main stage, media cell and other camps. The whole area is empty now,” he said. He added that the police action came without any prior notice.
Shahriar Kabir, executive president of Bangladesh’s Ekattorer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee and war crimes researcher, condemned the dismantling of the Mancha. “No one has the ability and courage to dismantle the mancha. It has spread across the country,” he said.
Ganajagaran Mancha spokesperson Imran H Sarker said, “The mancha is not something material. It is a matter of spirit. It will not vanish if it is removed or destroyed. The mancha will be erected again through the youths.”
Condemning the dismantling of the mancha, he said, “The mancha is the symbol of spirit of the Liberation War. It was erected to seek capital punishment for the war criminals. It is condemnable that it has been dismantled following demands by fanatic groups.”
The police dismantled the platform without holding any discussions with them, Sarker said at a press conference at the Teacher Student Centre (TSC) of Dhaka University on Monday.
“Our movement will continue despite the fact that the government has dismantled it. We, however, will refrain from arranging or announcing any programme, as a sign of respect for the government’s decision, as long as the ban is in effect,” he said.
Ruhin Hossain Prince, a central member of the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), said, “The dismantling of the mancha is not desirable. Such a decision by the government is a politics of balancing. It will not do anything good to the country. But erasing the mancha will not end their movement because it is the spirit of the Liberation War.”
Under the banner of Blogger and Online Activist Network (BOAN), the Ganajagaran Mancha, comprising the country’s youths, began protests on February 5 when the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) pronounced a verdict of life imprisonment for Jamaat-e-Islami assistant secretary general Abdul Quader Mollah, a war criminal.
Such a “lenient sentence”, as they dubbed it, sparked a wave of anger and frustration and drew people to Shahbagh Square. Tens of thousands were galvanised into putting up an unprecedented show of support for the mancha. The protests struck a popular public chord and the Ganajagaran Mancha was replicated in districts and divisions.
The protests started with 30-odd youths, but gradually turned into a tidal wave of humanity and spread over the country.
Later, students of different universities, including Dhaka University, students’ organisations, including Chhatra League, and the general public irrespective of caste, creed and colour, including children and women, joined the mancha.
The media, both print and electronic, from home and abroad, gave extensive coverage to the demands of the mancha.
Branches of the mancha were established all over the country. The mancha placed a six-point charter of demands, including banning Jamaat-Shibir’s politics and closing their commercial institutions. The mancha organised several rallies across the country, including the capital.
-With The Independent input
