Shahbag protests
2013 Shahbag protests
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| 2013 Shahbag Protest | |||||||||
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The 2013 Shahbag Protest began on Tuesday, February 5, 2013, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, with protesters demanding capital punishment for Abdul Quader Mollah and all others charged by theInternational Crimes Tribunal (Bangladesh) of committing war crimes during the 1971 Bangladeshi Liberation War.[5][6] Abdul Quader Mollah was charged with abetting the Pakistani army; actively participating in the 1971 atrocities in Bangladesh; rape (including rape of minors); and mass murder of Bangladeshis in the Mirpur area of Dhaka during the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971.[7] Despite the gory nature of the crimes, on February 5, 2013, the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) of Bangladesh sentenced Abdul Quader Mollah to life in prison after he was proved guilty in five out of the six charges against him.[8] Within hours of the verdict, mass disbelief and discontent broke out in Bangladesh where people were expecting capital punishment for Mollah.[9][10][11] The bloggers and online activists gave a voice to the public opinion and called for a mass demonstration at the Shahbagintersection in central Dhaka.[12][13] Thousands of people spontaneously joined the protest and the demonstration culminated into the 2013 Shahbag movement.[14] The Shahbag intersection is currently being referred to as "Generation Circle" (Bengali: প্রজন্ম চত্ত্বর Projônmo Chôttor), after the new generation credited with initiating such a spontaneous yet robust movement.[3][15] It has also been referred, by bloggers and social media enthusiasts in Bangladesh, to as Shahbag Square in a nod to the historic and revolutionary events which unfolded in Tahrir Square in Egypt.[1] Thousands of people have been holding day and night vigils at Shahbag refusing to leave until Mollah and other war criminals get capital punishment.[16] Jamaat-e-Islami has been protesting against the International Crime Tribunal (ICT) and the trials of their leaders since the beginning of prosecution, as most of the accused war criminals were their active political leaders. Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), their political ally, has initially expressed their support to Jamaat-e-Islami.[17] However, BNP has cautiously welcomed the Shahbag Protest stating that the government shouldn't be allowed to draw political mileage from the movement that is demanding capital punishment for war criminals.[18] During the ongoing Shahbag Protest, a protester and blogger named Ahmed Rajib Haider, who had actively participated in the protest from the beginning and had written blogs against Jamaat-e-Islami activities, was brutally slaughtered on February 15, 2013.[19][20] Rajib was an architect by profession.[21]
[edit]Historical context
In 1971 Bangladesh was a part of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and was called "East Pakistan" because Bangladesh was the eastern most province of Pakistan. The background of the Shahbag protest goes back to the 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh, in which the then East Pakistan fought against West Pakistan for nine months. During this period, in addition to providing support and guerrilla training to the freedom fighters, popularly known as Mukti Bahini, India joined the war on December 3, 1971 supporting East Pakistan. The armed conflict ended on December 16, 1971 and resulted in the formation of The Peoples Republic of Bangladesh as a free, secular and independent state. Many atrocious and dreadful crimes were committed by the West Pakistan army and their supporters.[22][23][24] Time reported a high ranking U.S. official as saying It is the most incredible, calculated killing since the days of the Nazis in Poland.[25] More than three million people were killed, nearly a quarter of a million women were raped, and over 10 million people were forced to seek refuge in India to escape brutal persecution in East Pakistan.[26][27]
A paramilitary force called Razakars was created during the struggle under the Razakar Ordinance promulgated in May 1971 by the Governor of East Pakistan, Lieutenant GeneralTikka Khan. The Ordinance stipulated the creation of a voluntary force to be trained and equipped by the Provincial Government.[28] The term razakar (Bengali: রাজাকার) comes from رضاکار razākār, the Urdu word for "volunteer". However, the word became a derogatory term in the Bengali language due to the shameful acts of betrayal to fellow Bengalis and the atrocities committed and/or facilitated by the razakars during the war. The perpetrators of the crimes were never brought to trial, leaving an unfathomable abrasion on the country's political awareness and the nation as a whole.[29]
The majority of East Pakistanis supported and participated in the call to create a free and independent Bangladesh during the Liberation War. But a small number of pro-Pakistanis, as well as members of a number of different fundamentalist political parties, particularly Jamat-e-Islami (JEI) and its student wing Islami Chatra Sangha (ICS,Bengali: ইসলামী ছাত্র সঙ্ঘ Islami Chhatro Shônggho), Muslim League, Pakistan Democratic Party (PDP) Council Muslim League, Nejam-e-Islami joined and collaborated with the Pakistani army to aggressively resist the formation of independent Bangladesh. Most of them committed or facilitated the atrocities in violation of international law in the province. The workers belonging to purely Islami Chatra Sangha were called Al-Badr, the people belonging to Jamaat-e-Islami, Muslim League, Nizam-e-Islami, etc. were called Al-Shams and the Urdu-speaking people generally known as Bihari were called Al-Mujahid.[30]
[edit]Trial attempts
The Bangladesh Collaborators (Special Tribunals) Order 1972 was promulgated to bring to trial those Bangladeshis who collaborated with and aided the Pakistan Armed forces during the Liberation War of 1971.[31] There are conflicting accounts of the number of persons brought to trial under the 1972 Collaborators Order, ranging between 10,000 and 40,000.[32] At the time, the trials were considered precarious by local and external observers, as they appear to have been used for carrying out political vendettas. R. MacLennan, a British MP who was an observer at the trials stated that "In the dock, the defendants are scarcely more pitiable than the succession of confused prosecution witnesses driven (by the 88-year old defence counsel) to admit that they, too, served the Pakistan government but are now ready to swear blind that their real loyalty was to the government of Bangladesh in exile."[33]
The Bangladeshi government issued a general amnesty on November 30, 1973, applying to all persons except those who were punished or accused of rape, murder, attempted murder, or arson.[32] The Collaborators Order 1972 was revoked in 1975.
The International Crimes (Tribunals) Act 1973 was promulgated to prosecute any persons, irrespective of nationality, accused of committing crimes against peace, crimes against humanity, war crimes, "violations of any humanitarian rules applicable in armed conflicts laid out in the Geneva Conventions of 1949" and "any other crimes under international law".[34] Detainees held under the 1972 Collaborators order who were not released by the general amnesty of 1973 were going to be tried under this Act. However, no trials were actually held, and all activities related to the Act ceased after the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1975.
There are no known instances of criminal investigations or trials outside of Bangladesh of alleged perpetrators of war crimes during the 1971 war. Initial steps were taken by theMetropolitan Police to investigate individuals resident in the United Kingdom who were alleged to have committed war crimes in a Channel 4 documentary film aired in 1995. To date, no charges have been brought against these individuals.[35]
[edit]International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) of 2010
In 2008, just before the general election, the majority of the people in Bangladesh, especially the youth, were very concerned of justice to the victims of the crimes committed during the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971 and felt the necessity of trying those alleged criminals even 38 years after independence of the country.[36][37] As it became a national demand Awami League-led 14-party alliance included this in their election manifesto.[38] The other large alliance, namely 4-party alliance including BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami, had several alleged war criminals as their top ranking politicians.[39] The freedom fighters and sector commanders of the liberation war pleaded with the public not to cast votes for the alleged war criminals.[40] The 14-part alliance won the election, held on December 29, 2008, with an overwhelming majority mainly because of their vows to prosecute alleged war criminals.[41][42][43] On 29 January 2009 Mahmud-us-Samad Chowdhury, a member of the parliament (MP) from Awami League (AL), put forward the proposal to take action regarding the trial of alleged war criminals during a session of the Jatiyo Sangshad (Bengali:জাতীয় সংসদ Jatio Shôngshod "National Parliament"). Other members of the party seconded the proposal and finally a resolution was passed unanimously calling on the government to ensure immediate trial of the alleged war criminals.[44] In 1973 the newly independent government of Bangladesh passed a law called the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act (ICT Act 1973) to investigate and prosecute the persons responsible for genocide,[45] crimes against humanity, war crimes and other crimes under international law committed in 1971. The Act was a complete law in itself, "providing the substantive law, definition of crimes, procedures to follow, provisions of evidence, constitution of the Tribunal, obligation of the Judges to be independent and to ensure fair trial standards, including the rights of the accused, rules to monitor investigations and interrogations, supervising arrest and viability of continued detention, rules to protect the witnesses and victims, rules regarding appeal after conviction, and the rule making authority of the judges etc."[46] On March 25, 2009 the government decided to try the alleged war criminals according to the ICT Act 1973 but with some amendments to make it more up to date.[47][48] As a part of the amendment procedure, the government sent the Act to the Law Commission where it was scrutinised by specialist lawyers, judges and professors of universities.[48][49] According to the recommendations made by the Law Commission some aspects of the ICT Act 1973 were amended by the legislation on 9 July 2009.[50] With inclusion of the new provisions, trial of a political party that worked against the liberation of Bangladesh could also be held on the same charge and the government was also empowered to file appeals with the Appellate Division against acquittal order of a tribunal.[50]
Finally, on the eve of the 39th anniversary of Operation Searchlight, the genocide[45] committed by the Pakistani army, the government announced the formation of a 3-member tribunal, 7-member investigation agency and 12-member prosecution team to hold the trial under the ICT Act 1973 on March 25, 2010. This landmark announcement for Bangladesh actually came just seven hours before the moment the massacre was committed on the night of March 25, 1971.[38][51]
The panel of three judges was appointed, with Mohammed Nizamul Huq as chairman with A.T.M. Fazle Kabir and A.K.M. Zahir Ahmed being appointed the other seats.[52]
The members appointed to the investigative agency who were tasked with assisting the state prosecutors are. Abdul Matin, Abdur Rahim, Kutubur Rahman, ASM Shamsul Arefin, Mir Shahidul Islam, Nurul Islam and M Abdur Razzak Khan.[53]
Golam Arif Tipu was named as Chief Prosecutor. The others are Syed Rezaur Rahman, Golam Hasnayen, Rana Das Gupta, Zahirul Huq, Nurul Islam Sujan, Syed Haider Ali, Khandaker Abdul Mannan, Mosharraf Hossain Kajal, Ziad Al-Malum, Sanjida Khanom and Sultan Mahmud Semon.[53]
[edit]Verdicts
A formal charge was filed by the Prosecution against Mollah on 18 December 2011 in the form of a petition as required under Section 9(1) of the 1973 Act.[29] On February 5, 2013, International Crimes Tribunal (Bangladesh) found him guilty of crimes against humanity during the war for independence from Pakistan in 1971.[8][54]
Abdul Quader Mollah was charged with the following:
- 1. Pallab Murder
- 2. Killing pro-liberation poet Meherunnesa, her mother and two brothers
- 3. Khandoker Abu Taleb Killing
- 4. Ghatar Char and Bhawal Khan Bari killing
- 5. Alubdi Mass Killing (344 people)
- 6. Killing and rape of Hazrat Ali and his family members.
His verdict was life imprisonment in two cases (charge 5 and 6) and 15 year jail sentence in 3 cases (charge 1, 2 and 3).[29]
The day before the verdict Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, the Islamist political party of which Abdul Kader Mollah is a leader, had announced a countrywide dawn-to-dusk general strike for Tuesday February 5, in protest of their leader's trial and impending verdict.[55][56][57] At the same time, social media users and people in general were dissatisfied with the International Crimes Tribunal verdict, considering it a very lenient sentence.[9][11] Following the verdict, there have been numerous postings on Facebook and Twitter and in blogs denouncing the judgment and demanding capital punishment for Abdul Kader Mollah. One Facebook user wrote on his status: “Come to Shahbagh, even if you are scared of the troubles on the street. You’ll find so many people standing by you demanding trial of the anti-liberation hyenas and vultures. Just forget what might happen. Just say that you demand capital punishment (for the war criminals). You have the courage to raise your voice with others in this demand.”[58]
[edit]Development of protest
[edit]Protests start Tuesday 5th February 2013
The protests started just a few hours after the verdict was announced when an online activists group, Blogger and Online Activists Network (BOAN), gave a call through social networks to start protesting the verdict.[59] The activists, along with people from blogs and social networking sites, rejected the verdict and started protesting on Tuesday afternoon at Shahbag Chottor or 'Projonmo Chottor' [প্রজন্ম চত্তর]. The demonstrators painted murals on the road, drew cartoons and hanged effigies of war crime suspects, including Mollah, with a vow to continue the protest until their demands were met.
[edit]Protest ramp up
The third day of the sit-in protest started with the demonstrators singing the national anthem of Bangladesh from 8 am. Hundreds of thousands of people gathered carrying banners, posters, and placards in Shahbag with the same demand as the news of the protest spread through the social media.[60]
[edit]Mass rally on 8 February
On Friday afternoon, a mass rally was called at Shahbag Square.[61] It is estimated that several hundred thousand people attended the rally. Dr Zafar Iqbal addressed the rally, praising the young generation and apologizing for previously underestimating their ability to mobilize.
[edit]Countrywide 3-minute silence on 12 February
One week after the protests began, a 3-minute silence from 4:00pm to 4:03pm was observed at Shahbag and all across Bangladesh on February 12, 2013.[62] In Dhaka, the traffic was stopped, and thousands of people flocked to the streets, formed human chains and stood in silence. The ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) game at theSher-e-Bangla National Stadium halted for three minutes as the players and the supporters observed silence. The parliamentarians and the police force also joined the protest and it became a part of history.[63] The popular Bengali singer Kabir Suman has written, composed, and put to tune a song titled as Tin Minit (Three Minutes) on the very same day to honor the silent protest.[64]
[edit]21 February 2013
On 21 February, the International Mother Language Day, the number of people joining the protest reached new high as hundreds of thousands of people joined in. The leadership of the protest declared 26 March 2013, the Independence Day of Bangladesh, as the deadline for banning Jamat-e-Islami.[65]
[edit]Symbols
The Shahbag Mass Movement sets a unique example in terms of the means of protests. Thousands of talented youths sang patriotic songs, recited poems; some arranged for screening of films on the history of the Liberation War. Many activists shared their experiences and updated the events online; a few got together and filmed a three-minute documentary on the premises over the last four days. "Join the Fight" is the title of the documentary, where a brief history of The Liberation War was also narrated. Colorful street arts, face paintings and bandanas, candles and flower petals representing the map of Bangladesh, etc. added to the slogans and the banners.[66]
[edit]Demands
- Demand capital punishment for Abdul Quader Mollah.[1][67][68]
- Demand capital punishment for all those convicted of war crimes by the International War Crimes Tribunal.[69][70][71]
- Boycott all Jamaat institutions[72]
[edit]Oath of Shahbag Square movement
| “ | "We swear an oath that the leadership of mass people from the Gonojagaran Mancha will continue the movement from Teknaf to Tetulia until capital punishment is handed down on those Razakar and Al-Badr members who committed crimes against humanity like mass killing and rape in 1971. We take the oath that we will remain vocal both on the streets and online until politics of war criminal Jamaat-Shibir is not banned and nationality of their members not cancelled. We further take the oath that we will continue demonstration demanding trial under a special tribunal of those Razakars and Al-Badr activists who were convicted and under trial but freed after 1975. We swear that we will boycott the war criminals' business entities -- Islami Bank, Ibn Sina, Focus, Retina and different other coaching centres. We know through these they collect money to continue with anti-liberation activities. We will also boycott the academic and cultural organisations through which they are spreading anti-liberation sentiments among the children. In brief, we will work for banning all the business, social and cultural organisations belonging to Razakars and Al-Badr activists. We swear that we will continue with our demand of stringent punishment to Jamaat and Shibir, who have committed crimes of sedition by threatening a civil war, after making their immediate arrest by recognising them through video footages and newspaper pictures. We swear that we will boycott war criminals' mass media like Diganta Television, Daily Naya Diganta, Amar Desh, The Daily Sangram, Sonar Bangla Blog. We will not subscribe to newspapers of war criminals at any office or house. At the same time, we will request the pro-liberation mass media to boycott war criminals and their accomplices."[73] | ” |
[edit]Media coverage
[edit]Domestic media
Domestic media covered this event widely. While most media outlets have been following the development of the situation since the earliest moments, some pro-Jamaat-e-Islamnews outlets reported the movement as being some kind of "well-orchestrated play made by the government."
In Sreemangal, Moulvibazar cable operators have stopped broadcasting pro-Jamaat-e-Islam television channel Diganta Television, to show solidarity to the protests.[74]
[edit]International media
BBC,[75] CNN,[76] Yahoo! News,[77] Reuters,[78] Al Jazeera,[79] The New York Times,[80] The Independent[81] and others have published news about this movement in their respective sites. BBC eventually changed their main title after Bangladeshi citizens took to Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook to point out several inaccuracies. The Bangla version of BBC has been closely following the events. They have several articles as well as audio interview of protesters in Shahbag posted in their page.[82][83] Reuters photographer Andrew Biraj has also published some live photos. Many bloggers and writers have published articles on several international media such as The Guardian article by Tahmima Anam and The Huffington Post article by Anushay Hossain on how the protest started at Shahbag and eventually connected Bangladesh as well as Bangladeshi people from all over the world.[15][84]
[edit]Facebook
Being the most popular social networking site among Bangladeshis home and abroad, Facebook played the most important role to spread the news worldwide about the progress of events happening at Shahbag. In fact, it was due to the recurrent sharing of posts from bloggers and different Facebook Pages that people started to attend events at Shahbag, and also inspired people everywhere else to show solidarity with equal motivation. Some factions, however, have been using the same tool to provoke controversy and false threads against this movement to mark it as staged, obscene and political. Rather such diversions were mostly dealt with similar fury only comparable to that at the Shahbag Square.[58]
[edit]Twitter
Elsewhere, people from Bangladesh and all over the world are tweeting with #shahbag hashtag with live update of this movement, on the social network Twitter.[85][86][87] The movement can be viewed in a visual way by visiting Shahbag.org, which is a website dedicated to this movement.[88] In addition, the events at Shahbag have seen the growing popularity of local social networking websites, such as Beshto.com and Somewhere In...Blog. A live coverage was broadcast online by means of free broadcasting websites likeUstream and JagoBD for people who couldn't be at Shahbag for various reasons, especially for people living abroad.
[edit]Reactions
[edit]Domestic responses
The Shahbag Protest has resonated with the masses and people of all strata have come out in great numbers to support this cause. People all over Bangladesh are demanding the capital punishment of the Abdul Quader Mollah after he was convicted of war crimes.[5] The major demonstration led by online bloggers, activists and general students is being widely accepted and joined in by people from all walks of life.[89] Political figures including ministers, members of parliament, and celebrities are showing solidarity with the demonstration. The Shahbag intersection itself is currently being referred to as "Generation Circle" (Bengali: প্রজন্ম চত্ত্বর Projônmo Chôttor). It has also been referred, by bloggers and social media enthusiasts in Bangladesh, to as Shahbag Square in a nod to the historic and revolutionary events which unfolded in Tahrir Square in Egypt.[1] The protest has spread to other parts of the country, with sit-ins and demonstrations taking place in Chittagong, Sylhet, Barisal,Mymensingh, Khulna, Rajbari, Rajshahi, Rangpur, Comilla, Bogra, Narayanganj, Sunamganj, Noakhali, andNarsingdi.[78][90][91][92]
This movement has inspired the youth of the nation and has reinvigorated the belief and confidence of the elders and freedom fighters on the youth of the country. Amiruddin Ahmed, a freedom fighter, was among the thousands of people who have joined the protest at Shahbagh. “After coming here I have realised that the national flag is secure at the hands of our children,” he said. The sexagenarian freedom fighter, who came there with his wife Rijia Amir, became quite emotional, ”I pray from my heart that they grow big in life.” Many of the 1971 "Golden Generation" have found fresh inspiration in Projônmo Chôttor.[93] Writer, Prof. Muhammed Zafar Iqbal was also one who regained his faith on the youth and now sees new hopes. He said, "I am here to offer my apology to you. I wrote in newspapers that the new generation only hits 'Like' on Facebook and writes on blogs, but does not take to the streets. You have proved me wrong and I thank you all for this". Dhaka University Vice Chancellor Prof. AAMS Arefin Siddique said, “Today is a movement to make the country free from razakars. The country needs to be freed fromrazakars’ hands. Capital punishment of the razakars is a demand of the country’s 16 crore people.”[94] Jahangirnagar University Vice Chancellor M. Anwar Hossain said, “The people of Bangladesh have rejected the verdict. At Projonmo Chottor, we join our hands to make a clear statement, to give a call to all countrymen to unite and oust the anti-liberation forces from the soil.”[94] Sector Commanders’ Forum vice chairman K M Shafiullah (Bir Uttam) said, “I haven’t come here to deliver a speech. I’m here to express my frustration. We want to know how many killings should Mollah have carried out in order to get the death sentence.”[94] State Minister for Law, Quamrul Islam said that the verdict against Abdul Quader Mollah for war crimes could have been different if people took to the streets ahead of the verdict.[95]
[edit]Political party response to protests
The Bangladesh Awami League has been disappointed with the verdict. However, Finance Minister AMA Muhith on Friday said the government would fulfill its election pledges by trying all the alleged war criminals.[96] The government is also working to file appeals with the Supreme Court contesting the recent verdict.[97] On February 11, 2013, the Cabinet approved proposed amendments to the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act 1973 to introduce a provision for plaintiffs to appeal to the apex court against verdicts delivered by the Tribunal. This amendment, if passed in parliament, will enable the state to appeal against the life sentence handed down to Abdul Quader Mollah.[98]
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, who were already staging violent protests against the impending trial of their leaders, has called for Hartal.[99] Jamaat continues to demand that the International War Crimes trial be scrapped and that their leaders be freed, regardless of whether their leaders are proved guilty or not. Jamaat supporters, and their student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir, carried out violent demonstration and acts of terror nationwide, with increasing frequency from November 2012 to February 2013, demanding the release of their leaders.[100][101] Such acts included firing gun shots, smashing and setting fire to hundreds of vehicles and exploding homemade bombs.[102][103][104][105] The violence was targeted at the police forces stationed at the different point of the capital Dhaka and major cities such as Rajshahi,[105] Cox's Bazar,[106] Chittagong,[107] Rangpur,[108]Dinajpur,[109] and Khulna[110][111] as well as innocent bystanders.[112][113][114] Several Jamaat-Shibir activists were arrested during the strikes and confrontation with the police.[110][112][107]
[edit]Reactions of Bangladeshis living abroad
From the very beginning of the movement, Bangladeshis living abroad expressed solidarity through the social media websites facebook and twitter.[58] Solidarity demonstrations took place in Australia,[115]Malaysia,[116] Germany[117] and United States. In the United States, Bangladeshis joined the protest through mass gatherings and demonstrations, especially in different universities in the majority of the states.[118][119]
Bangladeshis living in New York City joined in a symbolic protest on February 9, 2013 at Diversity Plaza, Jackson Heights.[120] A mass sit-in demonstrations were arranged by the Bangladeshi Community of Sydney, Australia in front of International Mother Language Monument in Sydney Ashfield Park on February 10, 2013.[121] In another mass gathering in the Angel Statue of Melbourne the demonstrators signed a petition to the Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, asking for death penalty for the alleged war criminals.[122]
Spirit of Shahbag at Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA. On February 10, 2013, Bangladeshi students and professionals got together at the Rutgers University campus to express solidarity with the 2013 Shahbag protest in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Many Bangladeshi residents of New Jersey, who are not affiliated with Rutgers University, also joined the university students to express their support.
Bangladeshi living in Taiwan (Republic of China) expressed their solidarity with the Shahbag protest on 10 February 2013 in Taoyuan County. Bangladeshi students from National Taipei University, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, YuanZe University, Chinese Culture University.
Bangladeshi students of University of Delaware and people nearby demonstrated their solidarity with Shahbag movement on Feb 15, 2013 in Newark, Delaware. They drew people's attention by standing at a busy intersection during the day. Later in the evening, they expressed solidarity with Shahbag with a candle light vigil. Everyone wore black ribbons for Rajib, the frontline blogger and activist who was brutally killed a few hours before the gathering.[123]
A statement from the Bangladeshis living abroad expressing their solidarity with the ongoing movement was read at the "Projonmo Chottor".[124][125]
[edit]Controversies
The opposition parties protested that the parliamentary amendment is politically motivated. They repeatedly stated that, the ruling party is trying to destroy the opposition party and accused the Prime Minister for backing the protesters for winning election. The opposition parties of Bangladesh are now mainly BNP and Jamat-e-Islami. Jamat-e-Islami directly opposed the creation of Bangladesh in 1971. Together with their allied origanisations, Jamat-e-Islami was involved in the killing of around three million Bangladeshis; rape of more than two hundred thousand women; and countless other crimes against humanity. BNP was established by taking the leaders who opposed the creation of Bangladesh and there were many war criminals in BNP. Many top leaders of BNP and Jamat are now facing the war crimes trial. BNP and Jamat are trying very hard to discredit the trials of war criminals.[126]
[edit]Outcome
The demonstration put pressure on the government to amend the International Crimes Tribunal Act to make provisions for appeal on behalf of the defense. The parliament made the necessary amendment on 11 February 2013, that paved the path of reconsidering the verdict given against Mollah.[127] Abdul Latif Siddiqui,the Jute and Textiles Minister of the government, said on 12 February 2013, that the preparation of a draft of a bill banning Jamaat-e-Islami from Bangladeshi politics is underway.[128]
[edit]Cultural activities
![[icon]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section requires expansion. (February 2013) |
Lucky Akter, a student of Jagannath University led the Tui Rajakar Slogan from the very first day of the protest. Her striking voice and relentless slogan, which was one of the key elements of the Shahbag movement, inspired and invigorated Bangladeshi people from every corner of the world.[129][130]
A Bangladeshi band Chirkutt also dedicated a nice song on supporting Shahbag movement titled as Shahbag Jonotar Bukfata Chitkar[131]
A famous singer and composer Haider Hussain & Brothers composed a song titled as Tora Shob Chol Chol Chol with the spirit of Shahbag protest.[132]
A "Chorompotro 2013" has been written for this protest.[133] Chorompotro was a popular radio program during the Liberation war of Bangladesh.
The National Cricket Team of Bangladesh visited the Shahbag premises on 10 February 2013 to express their solidarity with the movement. The team was accompanied by senior officials of the Bangladesh Cricket Board as well as former players.[134][135][136]
A Popular singer of West Bengal, India, Kabir Suman has composed a number of songs titled as Gonodabi, Shahbage Raatbhor, and Tin Minit to support the movement.[64][137][138][139]
Paromita Mumu composed a song titled "Uttoradhikar" to express solidarity with Shahbag from San Diego, CA, USA.[140]
Chamok Hasan from University of South Carolina, USA has composed a song titled "Uttal Shahbag" to support the movement.[141]
[edit]Photo gallery
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to:2013 Shahbag Protest |
A sample of photos from Bangladesh and abroad of people expressing solidarity can be viewed here. Additional photos can be viewed, and should be uploaded, at the 2013 Shahbag Protest page of Wikimedia Commons.
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