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| Bangladesh |
| Jamaat warms up with violence |
| 2013-02-28 |
| [Bangla Daily Star] Failing to get the support of any party in or outside the BNP-led alliance for today's nationwide hartal ... a peculiarly Bangla combination of a general strike and a riot, used by both major political groups in lieu of actual governance ... , a desperate Jamaat-e-Islami ... The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independentbranch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... resorted to violence yesterday to strike fear into the hearts of people in different parts of the country. Jamaat announced the dawn-to-dusk hartal yesterday, minutes after the International Crimes Tribunal-1 announced around 12:30pm that it would deliver today the verdict of the war crimes case against Jamaat Nayeb-e-Ameer Delwar Hossain Sayeedi ...Islamic orator and politician. He was a former Member of Parliament in the National Assembly of Bangladesh from 1996 to 2008, and is one of the most prominent leaders of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami... Jamaat-Shibir men torched and vandalised vehicles in Dhaka, Rajshahi and Chapainawabganj last night, creating panic among people. They even attacked a bus carrying the footballers of Muktijoddha Sangsad's under-16 team on Satmasjid road in the capital, leaving five players injured, said police. Talking to The Daily Star, BNP Joint Secretary General Rizvi Ahmed said his party was yet to decide whether it would back Jamaat's hartal. BNP would not officially support Jamaat's shutdown like the previous ones this month, considering it could incur people's wrath for backing Jamaat's hartal, said sources in BNP. At a presser in the morning, the leaders of Iman O Desh Rokkhar Andolon, an alliance of nine Islamist parties, said they would not back Jamaat if it calls hartal over war crimes related issues. RAJSHAHI At least five people, including two journalists and a policeman, were maimed as Jamaat-Shibir men clashed with police and locals at Sheroil Colony in Rajshahi yesterday. The clash erupted at 5:30pm, when around a hundred Jamaat-Shibir activists brought out a procession with sticks and brickbats in support of the hartal and some locals tried to resist them, said Rajshahi Metropolitan Police Commissioner SM Moniruzzaman. Among the locals were many Awami League activists, witnesses said. The Jamaat-Shibir men and the locals chased each other and exchanged brick chips in great numbers, injuring Officer-in-Charge Alamgir Hossain of the Detective Branch of the RMP. The hartal supporters threw brick chips at journalists, wounding Prothom Alo photojournalist Shahidul Islam and My TV cameraman Mohammad Mustahab and damaging their cameras. The locals caught two Shibir members -- Tawkir, 20, and Liakat Ali, 20, -- and beat them up in droves. The two were admitted to Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital, said police and witnesses. Jamaat-Shibir men blasted four cocktails during the clash. Police intervened around 5:45pm and, firing six tear gas shells and 20 rubber bullets, dispersed the pro-hartal activists. Three of the activists, including Tawkir and Liakat, have been tossed in the clink ... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not... , said the police. CHAPAINAWABGANJ Meanwhile, ...back at the comedy club, Boogie sadly admitted that he was a better peeping Tom than he was a comedian... in Chapainawabganj, Jamaat and Shibir members yesterday attacked law enforcers, injuring 14 coppers, including Officer-in-Charge Zamir Uddin of Shibganj Police Station. Sub-Inspector Nur-e-Alam of the cop shoppe said Jamaat-Shibir men brought out a procession in Shibganj Bazar area and suddenly attacked coppers with brick chips and sticks. They damaged some vehicles and torched the local Awami League office around 5:15 pm, he added. Police fired at least 50 rounds of bullet and 25 tear gas canisters to disperse them. Pro-government men soon showed up and battled with Jamaat-Shibir men, vandalising an ATM booth of Islami Bank at Shibganj Bazar, said witnesses. Around 5:00pm, Jamaat-Shibir activists marched in procession from Boro Indira intersection, said Golam Mortuza, officer-in-charge of Sadar Police Station. Police intercepted them when the procession neared Shaheed Satu Hall, trying to approach the Gonojagoron Mancha. |
| Posted by:Fred |