Abdul Karim Rashed, from Adabar in the capital, has been a reader of Prothom Alo since its inception. Around 12 noon today Monday, he came to see the exhibition at the damaged building of Prothom Alo in Karwan Bazar in the capital. He spoke there.
Speaking about Prothom Alo, this visitor said, “Prothom Alo has won the hearts of readers and come to number one today. Let other newspapers try to do this, or those who set fire should bring out a newspaper themselves. An ideal cannot be destroyed by fire like this. They thought Prothom Alo would end if they set fire, but Prothom Alo will rise like a phoenix in the love of millions of people.”
Many people like Abdul Karim Rashed came to the exhibition venue today. While viewing the burnt building exhibition, they expressed their feelings. The art exhibition ‘Alo’ by eminent artist Mahbubur Rahman began on 18 February in this fire-damaged building.
Visitors began arriving in the morning on the sixth day of the exhibition at the damaged Prothom Alo building in Karwan Bazar today. Young students, teachers, service holders, cultural activists, common people, foreign citizens, and people from different professions came to see the exhibition.
After seeing the exhibition, many said that setting fire to Prothom Alo means setting fire to the hearts of enlightened readers of Bangladesh and to the last refuge of the rootless people. Many think an attempt was made to burn down the place that raises the voices of grassroots people.
After visiting the art exhibition at the burnt Prothom Alo building, visitors said the institution would stand again with the love of readers. In their words, the attack on Prothom Alo is not only an attack on a media outlet but on the voices of ordinary people.
Those who tried to attack Prothom Alo in this way are actually forces of darkness, said Abdul Karim Rashed.
“Those who could not confront Prothom Alo with knowledge, intellect, and merit are the ones who set it on fire. I believe that if those who set Prothom Alo on fire had read it attentively from first to last page for six months, the darkness in their minds would have been removed, their minds would have been enlightened, and they too would have enlightened society. I don’t think they are people who read. People who read can never set Prothom Alo on fire. An ideal cannot be destroyed by fire,” He stated.
Many visitors also expressed anger at the government for failing to prevent the attack on the building. One such visitor, Sharif Mahmudul Hasan, said, “This has to be called a failure of the government. A government’s first responsibility is to ensure the security of its citizens. When an attack or assault happens on a media outlet, or such an incident occurs, nothing could be more unfortunate than this. Where an institution is attacked, ordinary people are not safe either. That this is a major failure of the state goes without saying.”
Former schoolteacher Malabika Paul expressed sorrow after visiting the damaged building. She said, “It was very painful to see why a newspaper office was burned like this. It is a bad act. We have been reading Prothom Alo for many years. We have trust and confidence in this media. Those who did this did a bad thing.”
Romana Schweiger, senior adviser of Rules of Law, Justice and Human Rights at UNDP, also visited the exhibition.
She said about Prothom Alo’s exhibition that freedom of the media must be upheld. This exhibition is a powerful reminder of that. It is strong proof of the unwavering courage of the sentinels of democracy.
On the night of 18 December, a group of extremists attacked the Prothom Alo building and carried out extensive looting. Then they set fire to the building.
The exhibition at the fire-damaged building will continue until 28 February. It will remain open for all every day from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm and from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm.