Ekushey Book Fair begins today amid tight security
DU Correspondent
The month-long Amar Ekushey Book Fair-2005 begins on the Bangla Academy premises today amid tight security.Six opposition-backed student organisations, including the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), yesterday vowed to resist the visit of the prime minister to the Dhaka University campus who is expected to inaugurate the book fair. The prime minister has no right to inaugurate the book fair as she has formed the government with the anti-liberation elements, said BCL President Liakat Sikder at a press briefing. The leaders of the student bodies also threatened to go for an indefinite student strike at Dhaka University (DU) if the student leaders and activists arrested during the 60-hour hartal are not released by 5:00pm today. The book fair organising committee has completed all preparations and taken strong measurers to avert any untoward incident. The Bangla Academy authorities have already met the law enforcers and security agencies in view of the present political situation. The agencies have assured it of ensuring security in and around the fair venue. "We have had several meetings with the law enforcers who assured us of a foolproof security during the fair," said Monsur Musa, director general of the academy. DU teachers, publishers and writers have expressed their concern over security as last year's brutal attack on Prof Humayun Azad in front of the Academy still haunts them. Md Nurul Huda, chief of the fair organising committee, said the members of the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) might be deployed to prevent recurrence of heinous attack. Plainclothes police have already been deployed at the fair venue to keep a vigil. And a number of security personnel are patrolling the university campus to check any untoward incident during the inaugural ceremony. In a statement yesterday, Dhaka University Teachers' Association President Prof AAMS Arefin Siddique and General Secretary Prof Mohammad Aktheruzzamana demanded that the government ensure security of the teachers, students and visitors at the fair venue. They also expressed deep concern over the deteriorating law and order situation in the country. Rabin Ahsan, publisher of Sraban Prakashani, said they want security for the writers, teachers and the visitors.
| 
