5 martyred at Manikgonj: Daily Star vomits yellow

Yellow Journalism watches in envy as the Daily Star starts its scandalous report with the shocking words, "Four people were killed and 50 injured when police, attacked by marauding pickets, opened fire in Singair upazila of Manikganj during the countrywide daylong hartal on Sunday." Humanity has died in us all. We have gone so deep into serving selfish political interests that the death of 5 people who don't support our ideology has become an event to be simply dismissed. Shame on us.

Five beating hearts stopped beating today when their love for Islam and the final prophet Hazrat Mohammad (S.A.W) overcame their love for themselves. Five people including a woman were martyred today in a nationwide strike called by Islamic parties in protest against death of four protesters at the hands of police last Friday when police firing coupled with ruling party barbarism led to the deaths. They had died protesting the defamation of Almighty Allah, His Prophet and Islam in general by atheist bloggers who were leading their own government sponsored movement at Shahbagh at Dhaka.

Citing witnesses, Naya Diganta reports that at 10 am Sunday morning, police , Awami League and Jubo League attacked a pro hartal procession taken out at Natun Bazaar area of Gobindal at Shingair. As news of this attack spread out and about, local people came out and joined the pro-hartal supporters who barricaded a section of the Dhaka Aricha Highway. Police flanked by AL and Jubo League retaliated by firing at the procession. Five people died, including a woman. At least 15 were bullet ridden, of whom 2 were reported to be in critical condition. A report by RTNN says that at least 35 demonstrators were bullet ridden while up yo 55 people including police were injured in the violence.  

The deceased are reported to be Mawlana Nasir Uddin (Gobindal Union Jamaat Finance Secretary), Jamaat activist Nazim Uddin, local Qaumi Madrassah student and Chatro Majlis activist Alamgir Hossain, Shah Alam and Helena Begum. 

In a typical turn of events, Awami League led 14 party alliance members have stated that writings of bloggers that defamed Islam and Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) were minor issues which opposition and their media had used to instigate people. The 14- party alliance called publication of such news as propaganda, cyber terrorism and resorting to outright falsehood. Supporting the action of police today in shooting such 'troublemakers' , the leaders of the 14 party alliance said that police had done the 'right thing'.

I close with the closing comments of the Daily Star, which in its rose tinted glasses, saw fit to see machete wielding and armed ruling party activists as being mere villagers, saying, "During the clash, villagers also helped police to disperse the (pro-hartal) activists, witnesses said."

Update: For pictures and video please check out this page.