The movement that began on Feb 5 has been campaigning for banning Jamaat-e-Islami, a political outfit that had tried to thwart the nation's freedom strggle in 1971 with the West Pakistani junta. Thousands of people from all classes of society have expressed solidarity with the unusual protest reinforcing its call for executions for war crimes.
This association of bloggers was the first to put their foot down in Shahbagh and demand death to convicted war criminal and Jamaat-e-Islami's Assistant Secretary General Abdul Quader Molla after he was sentenced to life on Feb 5. It sparked off a wave of anger and frustration, drawing people to Shahbagh and 'Ganajagaran Mancha' replicas nationwide to form mass protests continuing to date.
bdnews24.com: What drove you to take to the streets despite not being involved with any political outfits?
Imran Sarkar: It's not exactly like that, we came together all on a sudden. For 10 years we have been active against the war criminals. We were in the streets against the activities of Jamaat and Shibir. We took to the streets before to bring home war criminal Tridib Roy's mortal remains (from Pakistan) and also against the pressure the Turkish government had put to stop war crimes trial. Almost 20 student and social organisations were with us at that time. We had also opposed Bangladesh cricket team's planned tour to Pakistan. So it can be said that this movement did not spring out of nowhere.
bdnews24.com: Tell us about how it all started.
Imran Sarkar: We were optimistic on the day of Abdul Quader Molla's verdict, hoping he would be adequately punished. But we could not help but protest when he was awarded life sentence even after being convicted of killing 344 people. We communicated our message online and gathered in Shahbagh.
bdnews24.com: Did you think you would be able to get this far?
Imran Sarkar: Our mental state at the time did not allow us to think of coming this far. We felt that there should be protest. We did not think so many people will be on our side.
bdnews24.com: Hundreds of thousands of people have expressed their solidarity. What do you think about this?
bdnews24.com: Did you need to create a banner or platform for leding the protest over the last one month?
Imran Sarkar: There is no committee to direct the movement. All organisations assembled here make a decision. Our banner is 'Ganajagaran Mancha'.
bdnews24.com: Many have questioned the acceptability of the movement because of the participation of ruling party's student wing. What will be your response to that?
Imran Sarkar: Our main demand is maximum penalty to all war criminals and a ban on Jamaat-e-Islami's politics. Those who believe in this have joined us.
bdnews24.com: Most of the protesters are young and did not witness the Liberation War in 1971. What do you believe has driven them to be still so active?
Imran Sarkar: The revolutionary trend in using the Internet over the last 10 years in Bangladesh has widened the space for youths to become more conscious and aware about their own history. They have become politically conscious. They have learned about those who had opposed the nation's independence. The knowledge of the genocide, rapes and loots from 1971 evoked a deep hatred in the minds of youths against the perpetrators, and we are witnessing its outburst in this movement.
bdnews24.com: Blog entries by slain blogger Ahmed Rajib Haider had raised some issues after his killing. What are your thoughts on that matter?
Imran Sarkar: Rajib was our companion in the cause. He was with us during all the programmes. He was killed three days after provocative comments were posted in a blog belonging to Jamaat and Shibir. After his death, daily Amar Desh, a publication that has been actively siding with the war criminals, released a baseless report on him. A fake blog was created in his name to highlight anti-religious thoughts. Basically, it was a conspiracy, which has now been established as a fact.
bdnews24.com: How extensively do you think you were able to unite those against Jamaat-e-Islami and its student affiliate Islami Chhatra Shibir?
Imran Sarkar: If you notice, you will realise that this political outfit of war criminals always resorts to mass killings whenever their existence is under threat. Recently, they committed atrocities under the cover of enforcing shutdowns. But now people have the courage to resist them. Common people have resisted their acts in parts of the country. People will unite more, with the expansion of our movement.
bdnews24.com: What is the future of this movement?
bdnews24.com: What is the reason behind the non-violent approach of this movement?
Imran Sarkar: We believe (the method of) creating social values needs to be non-violent. The nation should come out of the trend of violence.
bdnews24.com: So, what comes next?
Imran Sarkar: For now, the movement's calendar has been fixed until Mar 8. After that we will hold rallies in the divisional cities. We will move to the districts from there. The sit-in will continue at its centre, Shahbagh. Our efforts are set to spread the people's uprising to every part of the country.
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