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| Bangladesh |
| Fatikchhari attack victims still reel from shocks |
| 2013-04-15 |
| [Bangla Daily Star] The families of the three Awami League men killed in Thursday's attack allegedly by Hefajat-e Islam and Jamaat-Shibir activists in Fatikchhari upazila of Chittagong are in deep shock, struggling to get over the cruel blow. The mothers are the hardest to face. Monwara Begum, mother of deceased Faruk Iqbal Bipul, vice-president of Bhaktpur union Jubo League ... the youth wing of the Bangla Awami League... , was wailing, "My son was never involved in any violence. Please return my son, please, please, please ..." Faruk left behind two sons -- one five-year-old and the other two-year-old. Her wife is shocked to the core. She keeps on asking: "Where will I go now with the kids?" Mother of another deceased, Md Rubel, has stopped talking since she got the news. Her blank stares belie the depth of her grief. Rubel's uncle Jahangir Alam said he [Rubel] was a day labourer and had gone to the procession on his friends' request. "If we had known about it, we would not have let him go," he said. Ferdous Begum is numbed by the shock of losing her son Forkan. All she has been saying since Thursday is, "Oh, my son! Where are you? Please come back to me." Eyewitnesses and local administration sources said the three were killed when activists of Hefajat-e Islam and 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... , joined in by locals gathered through announcement over loudspeakers, attacked an anti-hartal AL procession with sharp weapons and sticks. The attack was made around 11:30am as the procession was marching through Kazirhat in Bhujpur. More than 100 people, including 15 coppers, four firefighters, and two BGB men, were maimed. Around 100 vehicles including cycle of violences, jeeps, pick-ups, a police van and a fire truck were torched during the mayhem. Some 20 shops were also set ablaze. Meanwhile, ...back at the revival hall, Buford bit the snake and Eloise began speaking in tongues... the government yesterday closed the officer-in-charge of Bhujpur Police Station. Ang Sung Twain, inspector of the station, had been given the charge, said Superintendent of Police in Chittagong AKM Hafiz Akhter, adding that they were investigating whether the former OC had neglected his duties during the attack. As of yesterday, police have tossed in the clink Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! 40 suspects. Additional SP of Chittagong Farid Uddin said law enforcers were looking into the matter and would release the innocent ones after verification. He asked Bhujpur villagers not to be afraid. On Friday, police filed a case against around 5,000 people, including 100 named, for attacking law enforcers and obstructing their work. A rickshaw-puller, who witnessed the violence on Thursday, said just when the AL marchers were returning, he had heard an announcement from Kazirhat mosque that Moulana Junaid bin Jalal, principal of Al Jamaatul Islamia Bhujpur Madrasa, was killed in AL assault and the mosque and the madrasa were under attack. Contacted yesterday, Moulana Junaid told The Daily Star that when he heard the rumour, he rushed to the mosque and announced in the loudspeaker that he was alright and no one had attacked him. But the situation had gone out of hand by then, he added. Abdul Alim, chairman of Jafarnagar union parishad, was present during the mayhem. He said he had heard the attackers chanting slogans "Allahr Ain Chai, Sot Loker Shason Chai" [We want the laws of Allah, rule of the honest]. Police suspect the attack was planned and inflammatory substances had been used while torching vehicles and shops. The Chittagong SP said they had found that local Jamaat-Shibir men had instigated the locals to swoop on AL men by spreading a rumour. Meanwhile, ...back at the chili cook-off, Chuck reached for the green sauce... Hefajat-e Islam has denied its involvement in the violence. |
| Posted by:Fred |