Vow to resist fanaticism

The Jote leaders blamed a part of the alliance government for the repeated threats against country's pro-liberation intellectuals, writers, poets, and cultural personalities in a planned way to turn the country into a theocratic state.

They vowed to resist religious fanaticism saying their evil dream will never come true.

The Jote leaders made the comments at a rally at Teacher-Student Centre (TSC) at Dhaka University (DU) with Jote President Nasiruddin Yusuf Bachchu in the chair.

He said the defeated force wants to establish a Pakistan-style ruling system in Bangladesh.

"They want to kill our pro-liberation personalities to realise their evil intention," he said adding, "But we defeated them once in 1971 and we will defeat them again."

Death threats to pro-liberation people come repeatedly before it came to Prof Haque and Prof Iqbal but the government remained indifferent to the issue, cultural personality Ramendu Mojumdar said.

Jote General Secretary Golam Kuddus, Bangladesh Kobita Parishad leader Prof Dr Samad and other leaders also attended the rally.

Our Chittagong correspondent adds: eleven eminent educationists in a joint statement here yesterday condemned the death threat to Prof Hasan Azizul Haque and Dr Muhammad Zafar Iqbal.

The signatories include Professor Emirates Dr Jamal Nazrul Islam, Prof Alamgir Mohammad Sirajuddin, Prof Anupam Sen, Prof Hasanuzzaman Chowdhury, Prof Hamida Banu, Begum Mustar Shafi, Prof Abul Mansur, Dr Moinul Islam, Abul Momen, Dr Gazi Saleh Uddin and artist Dhali Al Mamun.