Report in The Daily Star, May 27, 2017
With the Lady Justice’s statue removed from the Supreme Court premises, Hefajat-e Islam and some other Islamist outfits yesterday demanded the authorities take down all other statues across the country.
They thanked Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for meeting their demand and warned the authorities not to set up any more statues.
The Hefajat also claimed that the removal of the statue was the “primary victory of the just movement by the people”.
Meanwhile, the ruling Awami League and the BNP said Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha made the decision of removing the statue.
Speaking at a rally in front of the national mosque Baitul Mukarram after the Juma prayers yesterday, Hefajat’s Dhaka unit President Nur Hossain Kasemi said, “This is a country of Tawhidi people. Such a culture of statues will not be allowed here. People will not accept such statues by roadsides any more. So, the statues which have already been set up should be removed.”
Hundreds of Islamist leaders and activists, under the banners of several Islamist outfits, brought out processions near the mosque welcoming the move. They chanted slogans demanding removal of all other statues across the country.
“The Greek statue has been removed…we express our gratitude to Allah…. At the same time, we thank the prime minister as she removed it after being enlightened with the spirit of Islam,” said Kasemi.
He said the removal of the statue was a difficult task. “We thank the prime minister for doing the hard job.”
Abdur Rob Yousufi, vice president of the Hefajat’s Dhaka city unit, said the statue should not be relocated anywhere else.
Addressing another rally, Fakhrul Islam, youth affairs secretary of Khelafat Andolon, said they initially demanded removal of the statue from the Supreme Court premises. “Now, we hope the prime minister will take steps to remove all the statues across the country.”
The statue was taken down early yesterday in the face of demands from some Islamist outfits that it should be removed before the beginning of Ramadan.
Earlier on April 11, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at a meeting with Ulema from Qawmi madrasas said she personally didn’t like the statue on the SC premises.
IT’S PRIMARY VICTORY: HEFAJAT
Junaid Babunagari, secretary general of Hefajat, yesterday in a statement said they would not allow relocation of the Lady Justice’s statue.
“The removal of ‘Themis’ [the statue] is the primary victory of the just movement by the people,” he said.
“In Islam, the idea of justice is a fundamental idea. Even justice was among the declared targets of our Liberation War. If the symbol of justice is borrowed from Greek heritage, then it is obliquely granted that there was no notion of justice in our history, heritage and religion,” said Babunagari.
“In some news we have seen that the Greek Goddess Themis would be placed in front of the Annex Building of the Supreme Court. We would like to clearly inform that this Greek idol, which is like a piece of trash in our country, has to be ditched for good. The statue which was set up against the people’s will should not be allowed to be relocated to anywhere in Bangladesh. The people will not accept any such wrong move,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, Islami Oikya Jote in another press release lauded the PM for removing the Lady Justice’s statue, saying that it was a timely decision.
“Removal of the statue was essential for ensuring peace, discipline and peaceful co-existence of all in the society. The whole nation was united to fulfill the demand. A small group of people was against the removal of the statue from the Supreme Court premises,” said the release issued by Mufti Foyzullah, secretary general of Islami Oikya Jote.
A DECISION OF SC: AL, BNP
AL General Secretary Obaidul Quader said the statue was taken down following the decision of the apex court.
“It’s not under the jurisdiction of the government. The jurisdiction lies with the Supreme Court,” Quader told journalists after visiting a construction site of the Dhaka-Tangail highway in Gazipur’s Chandra area.
Moudud Ahmed, a member of the BNP standing committee, said the chief justice removed the statue.
“The chief justice in consultation with some senior lawyers decided to remove the statue from the Supreme Court premises. So, I want to let you know that the chief justice removed the statue on his own, not at the order of the government,” he told a discussion organised by Barkatullah Bulu Mukti Parishad at the Jatiya Press Club.
“They [senior lawyers] suggested removing the statue to avoid any controversy,” Moudud added.http://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/hefajat-wants-removal-all-statues-1411435
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