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Joy Bangla!

Roar Shahbagh youths as maximum punishment read out

Staff Correspondent
Bangladesh waited for 42 years, Shahbagh for 24 days. And the pleas of millions of souls seeking justice were at long last answered yesterday.
And as the news of the death sentence to Delawar Hossain Sayedee reached the Projonmo Chattar around 2:40pm, the Shahbagh protesters erupted into exhilarated cheers.
They danced as they screamed at the limit of their lungs; chanted “Joy Bangla”
with a zeal never seen before and hugged each other. Some cried in joy.
“This is the happiest day of my life,” cried an elated protester, “We can go to sleep tonight knowing that we didn't let our predecessor's hopes, dreams and sacrifices go in vain.”
Demonstrators waited with bated breath for the verdict, from early morning yesterday. Many spent the night at the Projonmo Chattar, vowing not to fall
asleep until justice is done.
As hours passed by, and the night turned into morning and then noon, they grew increasingly anxious. “Did you hear anything?” many asked each other.
The expected moment finally arrived in the afternoon, and an announcement from the Gonojagoron Mancha turned the demonstration into a celebration.
"This victory is a victory for the people," said Imran H Sarker, convener of Blogger and Online Activist Network that began the movement demanding the capital punishment to all war criminals.
He dedicated the verdict to the sacrifice of the martyrs of the 1971 LiberationWar.
Protesters took to the streets of Shahbagh hours after the February 5 verdict of a life sentence to Jamaat leader Abdul Quader Mollah. Having kept the intersection under their occupation for 17 days in a row, demonstrators on February 21 announced a series of programmes to spread the movement across the country.
“I have waited for this verdict for 42 years. Perhaps Allah has kept me alive all these years so I can see this moment of history," said Nurul Islam, a freedom fighter, as he celebrated the verdict with the Shahbagh protesters.
Monica Islam, a medical student, joining the protest said she was there to feel the “pulse of the nation" and laugh or cry — depending on the verdict — together with the protesters.
Soon after the verdict, protesters marched to the Central Shaheed Minar, chant-ingvictoryslogansandholding national flags towards the sky.
"I didn't want to be home on a joyful day like this. I was feeling a little sick but when I heard the news, I knew I had to be here, with everyone,
celebrating,” said Jasmine, a private university student.
A group of private university students, marching in celebration, identified themselves as the “Guerrilla Camp” that has remained camped at Shahbagh from the first day of the movement to counter the propaganda being spread allegedly by Jamaat and its allies.
“Many of us have dropped our semesters to give this movement enough time,” said Faisal, also a private university student.
Earlier in the morning, around 10,000 people joined a procession brought out from the Shahbagh intersection defying the daylong hartal called by Jamaat-e-Islami.
Marching for about two hours through Matsya Bhaban, Bijoynagar, Kakrail, Malibagh, Mouchak, Moghbazarand Banglamotor, the procession returned to Shahbagh around 12:15pm.
Protesters also vowed to continue the movement until all the war criminals are brought to book.
“This is only the beginning. This can be considered our first victory, but we will continue our movement till every war criminal — from whichever party he may be — is given due punishment," said Ashiqur Rahman, a university student and protester.
TODAY'S PROGRAMMES
The protesters will hold a public rally at Shahbagh at 3:00pm today, said Imran, urging the people to hold such rallies in every district and upazila at the same time.
In addition, he called upon all to offer special prayers in mosques across the country after the Juma prayers to seek eternal peace for the souls of the 1971 martyrs. He also urged the other religious communities to arrange special prayers at temples, pagodas and churches in the evening.