2024-08-05 03:18:39
In the ongoing movement of the country, sports journalists have formed a human chain demanding justice for atrocities on students and a discrimination-free society.
On Saturday (August 3), more than a hundred journalists from different media were present in the human chain that started at 12:00 in front of Gate No. 1 of Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
At the end of the human chain, a minute’s silence was observed in honor of all those who lost their lives in the atrocity.
ATM Saiduzzaman, sports editor of Kal Kanth, who was present at the manabandhan, said, ‘What happened in the last few days, in July and what is happening now, there is no language to mourn. Not just as a sports journalist, I am here as a free citizen of a free country. I am shocked, saddened.’
Calling for justice, he further said, ‘We should have raised the voyage earlier. This atrocity must be stopped at any cost. Those in charge did not do that. I am not sure how many more years we will have to bear the consequences of what happened. I demand a fair investigation into every incident, no eyewash.’
Demanding a discrimination-free social system, Saiduzzaman further said, ‘None of us should be deprived of the right as a free citizen of a free country. This country is mine, this country belongs to no one. We did not win the freedom war, but this freedom war is the pride of all of us. It is nobody’s property. Now is the time for this realization. I don’t want quantity, I want quality life. The life that will be, I will go from home to office safely, my children will go to school. My elderly parents will get better treatment.’
Rezwan Uz Zaman, Channel 24’s special correspondent, said, ‘We want justice for every murder. We have only one demand, only one thing, that justice must be established. We think that if we can turn this demand into a mass tide from all sides, then this demand will be fulfilled.
Shamim Chowdhury, a veteran sports journalist of newsg24.com, while covering the anti-discrimination movement, said in reference to the journalists who were killed while covering the anti-discrimination movement, ‘We still do not know the exact number of those killed in this movement. I am hearing different things from different media. Among them, 5 journalists were killed while performing their duties. On behalf of the sports journalists, we pray for their souls to rest in peace. Professionally, they are our colleagues, we will first demand that each death be a fair and credible trial.
Senior sports journalist Noman Mohammad said about the next generation in his speech, ‘We have come here from a place of responsibility. I saw an account of UNICEF, 32 children died. That child could have been your child. We could have been anyone’s child. Who are we building the country for? Who is trying to rebuild this country? For our next generation.’
‘If they are not safe in this country, then who else is safe? That is why we sports journalists stand here with a demand – the brutality on the students, the brutality that has been happening for more than two weeks should be stopped. May it stop quickly. May there be no more unwanted deaths. We want assurance of natural death.’- He further said.