<nettime> Editor of Meghbarta arrested, and released.

[Shahidul Alam <shahidul@drik.net> (by way of Eric Kluitenberg)]

Professor Anu Muhammod editor Meghbarta, Bangladesh's first webzine
(www.megbharta.net) and a teacher of economics at Jahangirnagar University,
was arrested earlier today, but later released. He was unhurt. Muhammod was
part of a group of ethnic nationalities, political leaders, intellectuals,
writers, teachers, feminists, students, and other activists who had
gathered in Chittagong city to take part in a conference which was
scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m today (26th December 1999). The conference,
which was organised to mark the one-year founding of the United Peoples
Democratic Front (UPDF), aimed at  strengthening the democratic process in
the Chittagong Hill Tracts, was scheduled to open today in Chittagong
city's Laldighi Maidan. The conference was routed by the police and
government-sponsored attackers..  The UPDF organisers had sought and
received the Chittagong city mayor's permission to hold the conference.
However, permission to publicise the meeting through announcements made
over the mike, as is usual in Bangladesh, had been denied. Hints of
government surveillance and intentions of using informal means of state
violence to sabotage the conference were partially confirmed last night
when the pandal (raised platform) in the meeting grounds was destroyed by
unknown men. Men who had been hired to prepare the conference grounds were
attacked. In the morning the organisers and conference-participants changed
the venue of the meeting to the Chittagong city Shaheed Minar. At the
Minar, the UPDF and all others were subjected to lathi and bayonet charges
by police and state-sponsored attackers. The police arrested many of the
conference participants, both hill-people and Bengalis. The arrested
included Anu Muhammod  and Rumi (Bangladesh Chhatra Federation) who were
later released, according to eyewitnesses.

 Forty four people are known to have been arrested and taken to the
police-station (BBC report).

Today's attack follows the attack by armed gunmen, belonging to the ruling
Awami League's student wing, who yesterday vandalised and fired shots and
ransacked the podium of a convention called by freedom fighter Kader
Siddiqui. At least 50 people including four journalists were injured in the
clashes. People later attacked and injured four policemen for turning a
blind eye to the government sponsored attackers. The convention, called by
Kader Siddiqui who recently left the Awami league, marked the launch of his
new party Krishak Sramik Janata League (Farmers, workers, people, league) -
Daily Star report.


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