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| Bangladesh |
| Bloggers term govt action insult to democracy |
| 2013-04-03 |
[Bangla Daily Star] Bloggers form a human chain before Raju memorial on Dhaka University campus yesterday demanding an immediate release of juggedDrop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try! bloggers. The blogger community, Shahbagh activists and ordinary citizens yesterday strongly condemned the arrest of three bloggers on charges of defaming Islam. Terming the arrests an infringement of freedom of speech and an insult to democracy, they demanded immediate release of the bloggers. The government has targeted the bloggers instead of taking action against the 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... and its allies, who are killing people, resorting to yellow journalism, spreading communal hatred and instigating violence, they added. Imran H Sarker, the Gonojagoron Mancha spokesperson, said it saddened the nation that a government, which came to power pledging a "digital Bangladesh", had shut down a whole blog based on a few entries. "When the very government that formed a tribunal to try war criminals takes a position against free-thinking and pro-liberation blogs, then the new generation asks, Et tu, Brute [You too, Brutus]?" He was addressing a presser at Shahbagh yesterday afternoon. In an overnight drive starting around 10:00pm Monday, law enforcers picked up the trio from different parts of the capital for placing "derogatory contents about Islam and Prophet Mohammad (PTUI!)" on various internet platforms. |
| Posted by:Fred |