Twelve political parties, mostly Islamists, begin a nationwide hartal for 30 hours this morning in protest against the replacement of 'absolute faith and trust in Allah' with 'secularism' and 'socialism' in the Constitution.
The hartal is also in protest against incorporation of the wrong translation of 'Bismillah-Ar-Rahman-Ar-Rahim' in the Constitution, from which they have demanded the dropping of all the clauses in the National Women Development Policy and the National Education Policy that contradict the strictures of Islam.
A faction of the Khelafat Majlis, Islami Andolan Bangladesh, Bangladesh Khelafat Andolan, Sammilita Ulema Mashaikh Parishad, National Democratic Party, Islami Oikya Andolan, Bangladesh Muslim League, Bangladesh National Awami Party, National Awami Party (Bhasani), Jatiya Ganatantrik Party, Bangladesh Islamic Party and Nezame Islam Party called the strike on June 30, immediately after the passage of the Constitution (Fifteenth Amendment) Bill.
Later they also added their objections to the repealing of the provision of election-time caretaker government, insertion of a new Section to control the activities of religion-based parties and repealing of Article 25(2) which had emphasised the strengthening of relations with Muslim counties.
The Islami Andolan Bangladesh, however, unofficially withdrew from the alliance of 12 parties and called a six-hour hartal on July 3 to underscore the same demands.
The party's chief, Syed Muhammad Rezaul Karim, Pir of Charmonai, on Saturday said that his party would no longer be a component of the 12-party alliance although it fully supports the 30-hour hartal.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party's ally, Islami Oikya Jote, replaced the Islami Andolan Bangladesh in the 12-party combine.
The BNP and its principle ally, the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, on Friday extended their moral support to the 30-hour hartal.
The 12 parties, at a news briefing in Ruposi Bangla Hotel on Saturday, warned the government of dire consequence if the hartal was obstructed. They threatened enforcement of more hartals even in the holy month of Ramadan if the government interfered with them.
'Our agitation will continue in Ramadan if the government does not reintroduce "absolute faith and trust in Allah" in the Constitution and drops "secularism" and "socialism" from it, and scraps the secular education policy and the Women Development Policy which are against the Qur'an,' said Shah Ahmadullah Ashraf, Khelafat Andolan's amir.
The Islami Oikya Jote's secretary general, Abdul Latif Nezami, said they have taken all necessary preparations for the hartal. 'Enforcing strike is a democratic right. If the government tries to obstruct it, it will not do any good to the government,' he said.
Law minister Shafique Ahmed on Saturday said enforcement of the hartal by Islamist parties was illogical as nothing was retained in the Constitution after 15th Amendment which hurts the religious sentiment of the people.
Supporters of Islami Andolan Bangladesh, while drumming up support for the hartal, clashed with the police in Barisal, and at least 20 persons, including a police constable, were injured.
The police lobbed teargas shells and lathi-charged their processions in the launch and steamer terminals, in front of the City Corporation Office, Falpattu, Girza Mahalla and Sadar Road.
Police arrested ten youths — Md Ismail, Masum Billah, Md Al'amin, Ferdous Hossain, Nazimuddin, Sirajul Islam, Abdul Halim, Nazmul Huq, Habibur Rahman and Humayun Kabir —from various spots.
In Patuakhali, police arrested the Jamaat-e-Islami's district unit amir, Moulana Fakhruddin Khan Razi, from his house in Kalikapur while he was in a meeting with his party's activists.
In Noakhali the police foiled a procession of Islami Andolan Bangladesh by lathi-charging it. At least six people were injured, and 10 agitators — imams Mominullah and Abul Kalam, madrassah students Farhad, Sarwar, Abbas uddin, Kamal Uddin, Mohammed Ullah, Hafiz Ullah, Afsar Uddin and Zaheer Ahmed — were detained.
Reports from Khulna said that the police lathi-charged a procession of the Islami Andolon and injured at least 20 agitators. They also picked up 30 agitators including Islami Chattra Andolon city unit's general secretary Mahbubur Rahman and activists Zahidur Rahman, Joynal Abedin and Sheikh Hafizur Rahman.
Source : New Age
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