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A Statement from
Mukto-mona :
Stop Muzzling Taslima
Nasrin a la Bangladeshi style
Bangladesh's judiciary proved it again
that they are not free. Mukto-Mona, an assembly of freethinkers mostly
from Bangalee descent in the Internet, strongly denounces the recent
verdict of an obscure court located in the backwater of Bangladesh
vis--vis the feminist writer Ms. Taslima Nasrin. The suddenness of the
court verdict surprised most freedom-loving Bangalees. And worst of all,
no attorney had represented Ms. Taslima Nasrin at the court. Therefore, it
was a one-sided affair. This is what is called - justice in Bangladeshi
style!
Ms. Taslima Nasrin is a prisoner of conscience. Beginning from her
childhood, she saw repression against our womenfolk in Bangladesh. Similar
to the action of a volcano, her rage, anger, disbelief, and all the
incongruities of our repressive society pushed her to the brink of
fervidness. She did what a volcano does when excess pressure builds up
inside it. It simply erupts. In her case, the catalyst was the post Babri
Mosque riot in southern districts of Bangladesh. Her cry for justice
reverberated in her book Lajja (Shame). And cry she did. Most folks in
Bangladesh those who lack a "third eye" saw the vulgarity in her novice
write-up. And they cried foul. "Death to Taslima" was the shrill cry from
Mullahs. Ms. Taslima Nasrin had to look for a safe place in abroad. She
has been living in exile not through her choice. Fundamentalist Muslim
clerics lead a violent campaign at that time for killing her and prize
was set for her head in response to her books and articles. Her life is
vulnerable in all parts of Bangladesh since a big chunk of the nation has
trodden the path to Islamism. Throughout the period of her unhappy exile
from Bangladesh, Dr. Nasrin constantly spoke of her love for her homeland
and her people, and of her desire to return to her home. For a brief
period, she returned to Bangladesh in 1998 under difficult circumstances,
just to be near her dying mother. After her mother's demise, she returned
to Europe. For a while, she lived in Kolkata to be imbued by the ambiance
of Bangalee culture as She was missing her motherland dearly. The
Moderator of Mukto-mona and the members have worked closely with Dr.
Nasrin in recent years of her exile and have found her to be an
outstanding representative of the rich culture of Bangladesh. Our forum
is proud to count Dr. Nasrin among its members, and will be unstinting in
its efforts to defend this courageous champion of human rights.
Now by
the verdict of a lone magistrate from Goplaganj, Bangladesh, Ms.
Taslima Nasrin's fate is sealed again. But it has raised one important
question in the minds of many freethinkers. Is the judiciary in Bangladesh
really free? Past history shows us that the same judiciary decided to
defer the verdict of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman killing of August 15, 1975.
Similarly, the case against Shaik-ul Hadis Maulana Azizul Hoque, the head
of Islamic Oikkyo Jot, for killing police constable Badsha Miah in Jamia
Muhammadia Arabia Madrassah Complex on February 3, 2001, was thrown out
soon after the caretaker government sworn into the office in July 2001.
The highest seat of judiciary in Bangladesh, the Supreme Court, who are
too afraid to touch the case of Sheikh Mujib killing with a seven-feet
pole was too eager to give verdict against Bangladesh's premier private TV
channel Ekushey TV. It seems as if the judiciary is bent on giving verdict
against any person or institution that has a tinge of secularism written
all over it while the religionists have a field day getting a reprieve
from the court. This is simply a mockery of justice in Bangladesh.
We, the Mukto-Mona forum appeal to the conscious of all freedom-loving
people of the world to condemn the verdict meted out by the court of a
magistrate in Bangladesh where the feminist writer Ms. Taslima Nasrin was
"convicted" for a crime she did not commit in the first place. She
exercised her inalienable right -- freedom of speech -- to speak her mind.
The religious fanatics in Bangladesh say her writings are blasphemous.
However, since Bangladesh is yet to have any blasphemy law in the book,
one of them lodged a case against the writer by stating that her writings
had hurt "religious sentiment of the Muslims." She was tried in absentia
and not only that there weren't any lawyer to defend her in the court of
law.
We demand to the judiciary of Bangladesh to declare the verdict against
Ms. Taslima Nasrin [an
emblem of honor for Bangladesh, achieving the Ananda Puroshkar, India,
1994; Kurt Tukholsky Prize, Sweden, 1994; Feminist of the Year, USA, 1994;
Human Rights Award from the French government, 1994; Edit de Nantes award,
France, 1994; Monismanien Prize, Sweden, 1995; Sakharov prize for freedom
of thought from EU, 1995; Honorary Doctorate from Gent University,
Belgium, 1995; International Humanist award from IHEU, 1996; Ananda
Puroshkar (second time), India, 2000; the Erwin Fischer Award, Germany,
2002 etc.] illegal since
none had represented Ms. Nasrin at the court to defend.
Therefore, not only the court verdict be annulled, the case against the
writer should also be withdrawn unequivocally right away.
We demand from Mukto-mona to the government of Bangladesh to allow Ms.
Taslima Nasrin to return to Bangladesh. The government must also provide
safety for the writer and her immediate family.
Finally, the government should
foster freethinking and defend the article of free speech as provided by
the constitution of the land. To show that the government is serious about
instituting the free speech clause of the constitution, all the orders
for banning books in Bangladesh including the ones written by Ms. Taslima
Nasrin should be rescinded right away.
What we want to see ultimately is
the re-institution of secularism in our motherland. The country for sure
was established at the high cost of a supreme sacrifice from 3 million
lives in 1971 to foster secularism, egalitarianism, and democracy in the
land of free. Let us all work for that cherished goal.
Letter of support for Taslima
from Mukto-mona members:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mukto-mona/message/8139
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mukto-mona/message/8154
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mukto-mona/message/8167
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mukto-mona/message/8166
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mukto-mona/message/8168
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mukto-mona/message/8169 etc.
The above statement is created by the
members of
Advisory board of Mukto-mona and written by
Mukto-mona Moderator.
Please circulate the statement as many places as possible.
Mukto-mona (
www.mukto-mona.com ) |
