Removal of Lady Justice's statue sparks protests

Various socio-cultural, student and political organisations in Dhaka and Chittagong yesterday protested removal of the statue of Lady Justice from the Supreme Court premises.

They also demanded its immediate reinstallation on the same location.

In the capital, different cultural, rights and student organisations organised a torch rally and human chain in protest. Chanting slogans, more than a hundred activists marched from Shahbagh intersection to TSC of Dhaka University.

They also demanded release of protesters who were arrested in the morning for protesting against the removal of the statue and declared to organise continuous protest all over the country.

Earlier, the activists organised two human chains in front of the national museum in Shahbagh.

Speaking at a human chain, Sammilita Sangskritik Jote President Golam Kuddus said, “The sculpture should be reinstalled on the court premises, otherwise they [the extremists] will force to remove other sculptures like Shaheed Minar, National Memorial and Raju sculpture.”

Nijera Kori Coordinator Khushi Kabir said removing the sculpture around midnight was reprehensible. If the government did so to make Hefazat-e-Islam happy, they should make their stance clear, she said.

Spokesperson of a faction of Ganajagaran Mancha Imran H Sarker said installing and removing the sculpture was part of the government's politics as it wanted to resist people's protest against the recent incidents of rape and sending the Narayanganj schoolteacher to jail.

Meanwhile, Awami League's ally and a partner in the coalition government, Workers Party of Bangladesh also protested the incident.

“Removal of the sculpture is a shameless surrender to the fundamentalists,” it said in a statement issued yesterday.

“Unfortunately, the debate has been diverted to sculpture versus statue. In actuality, this does not have any relation to religion. This reactionary step is unfortunate for the nation,” the statement read.

The statement comes at a time when the social media is being taken by storm over the issue, and alongside, Islamists are demanding removal of all statues across the country.

The statue was taken down in the late hours of last night, a month after Islamist group Hefazat-e-Islam demanded its removal from the SC premises.

Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon, belonging to Workers' Party, termed the incident a “shameless surrender”.

He made the remark at a discussion at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh in the capital yesterday organised by the Workers Party of Bangladesh marking 100th anniversary of “October Revolution in 1917”.

Earlier on April 11, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at a meeting with the Ulemas from Qawmi madrasas said she personally did not like the statue on the SC premises either.

Later on April 17, Hasina told her cabinet colleagues that she had asked the chief justice either to remove the statue or reinstall it at another place so that it cannot be seen from the National Eidgah.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Mahila Parishad in a statement said it seemed that the removal of the statue is a compromise of the government with fundamental forces.

This incident will be considered disgraceful and shameful for the nation, its prosperity, and for the practice of free thinking.

It is a threat to the spirit of the Liberation War in an independent and sovereign country, said Dr Fauzia Moslem, acting president of the parishad, and Maleka Banu, its general secretary.

Meanwhile, Greater Chittagong Hill Tracts Hill Students' Council (PCP) in a statement said Awami League most of the time speaks against fundamentalism, but they also make the fundamentalists stronger by patronising them.

In Chittagong, different organisations also protested removal of the statue.

Bangladesh Chhatra Front, Nari Mukti Kendra, Charan Sangskritik Kendra, Chhatra Federation, Chhatra Union, Jubo Union and Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) organised separate protest rallies at port city's Cheragi intersection and on press club premises.

Advocate Bishumoy Dey, former Chhatra front leader; Joytu Sushil, Chhatra front school affairs secretary; Mejbah Ahmed, organiser of Charan Cultural centre; Julekha Akther and Asma Akther member and president of Nari Mukti Kendra Chittagong district committee; spoke at the protest programmes at Cheragi intersection.

Chittagong city unit Chhatra Federation also held a protest rally on press club premises.