Barred from Manik Mia Avenue, visual artistes stage protest at Farmgate in rain

Drenched in rain, visual artistes held a protest rally at the capital’s Farmgate area. However they couldn’t hold the rally at Manik Mia Avenue, as announced beforehand, due to police obstruction. The artistes said, the brutal manner in which the government repressed the students’ justified movement cannot happen in any democratic civil society.

Actors and technicians had announced a rally on Manik Mia Avenue in front of the national parliament house at 11:00 am today, Thursday in protest of the ‘government’s stern repressive moves and students, public being shot dead in the quota reform movement’.

Under the banner of Visual Artistes’ Community, the artistes gathered at the Indira Road end of Manik Mia Avenue. It had been pouring since morning. When the artistes ignored the rain and moved forward with banners and posters chanting slogans, the police obstructed them.

In the face of police obstruction, the artistes carried out a procession through Indira Road and arrived in front of Ananda Cinema Hall at Farmgate. The artistes chanted various slogans condemning the killings, demanding justice, stopping mass arrests, crticising the government and demanding its resignation.

The artistes with their banners and posters chanted slogans standing along the road to the west of Ananda Cinema Hall while it kept raining. Many sang protest songs in chorus. Artistes, directors and technician leaders delivered speeches in protest and condemnation.

Members of public also joined this rally of the artistes. The gathering grew vast. There were a lot of police personnel around, but they didn’t obstruct the rally again.

Among the speakers were Mamunur Rashid, Amitabh Reza Chowdhury, Akram Khan, Azmeri Haque Badhon, Piplu R Khan, Reetu Sattar, Armeen Musa, Ashfaque Nipun and many others. Everyone cut their speeches short because of the rain. They expressed their solidarity with the students.

Director Nurul Alam Atique, Matia Banu Shuku, Redoan Rony, Tanim Noor, Nuhash Humayun, Syed Ahmed Shawki, Adnan Al Rajeev, Sankha Das Gupta, actor Mosharraf Karim, Rafiath Rashid Mithila, Iresh Zaker, Siam Ahmed, Nazia Haque Orsha, Zakia Bari Mamo, Shukorno Shahed, Mostafa Monwar, Deepu Imam, Sabila Nur, Probar Ripon, Shamol Mawla and many others were present at the rally.

From this rally of the visual artistes’ full support was expressed towards the nine-point demand of the students. At the same time, demands were made for justice of the killings as well as an end to the mass arrest, cases and harassments.

It has been stated from the rally that the artistes will continue with their their protest programme. The artistes will hold another protest rally in front of the Abahani Club filed on Shat Mashjid Road tomorrow, Friday at 11:00 am.

Finishing the rally in front of Ananda Cinema Hall, the artistes chanting slogans marched towards Indira Road in a procession. They announced an end to the programme arriving at the intersection there.