Photo: Collected
The police did not order the suspension of the Dhaka Metropolitan Theatre Festival, contrary to initial reports, said filmmaker and cultural adviser Mostofa Sarwar Farooki. Instead, he revealed in a Facebook post today (16 February) that internal conflicts within the theatre community led to the cancellation of the event at Mahila Samiti in the capital.
"I found out that the police never said anything like that. They even issued a statement last night, clarifying that they did not ask anyone to cancel the festival and were actually prepared to provide security," he wrote in his post.
He added, "After seeing the news of the theatre festival being cancelled, we started investigating from yesterday evening. The government is encouraging cultural events nationwide through Shilpakala Academy just yesterday, three performances took place there, and today, Prachyanat has a show scheduled at Shilpakala. So why would the police ask for the festival to be shut down here?"
"Through our quick inquiry, we discovered that a faction within the theatre community itself had been opposing this festival and had been pressuring the Mahila Samiti authorities for days to revoke the venue allocation," the adviser explained.
He further said, "These agitated theatre activists claimed that the festival was being used as a cover for certain individuals or their affiliates—who had incited violence through their statements during the July movement, leading to the killing of students and civilians—to gather again. They demanded that before any reintegration, those responsible must first face justice for their role in July."
Eventually, the Mahila Samiti authorities cancelled the venue allocation yesterday, he added.
Farooki also criticised the official statement from Mahila Samiti and said, "What's unfortunate, however, is that instead of addressing this issue directly, their statement initially tried to shift the blame onto the police. And at the end of the statement, they vaguely mentioned that the festival had to be cancelled due to a 'mob.' But they know exactly who is protesting against them. Why did they avoid mentioning their identity and instead refer to them as a 'mob'? Was this an attempt to establish a particular narrative?"
The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) also clarified last night (15 February) that no such directives were issued for the suspension of the Dhaka Metropolitan Theatre Festival.
"The DMP clarifies that no directive has been issued from its side to cancel or suspend the festival. We have always encouraged any form of creative and artistic activity," reads the statement by DMP. On 15 February, the Dhaka Metropolitan Theatre Festival was suspended due to security concerns, according to festival convener Thandu Raihan.
The festival was scheduled to be inaugurated at 5pm at Mahila Samiti auditorium with a performance of the Liberation War-based play "Payer Awaj Pawa Jay". A total of 85 theatre groups were set to participate.
In a statement, the festival organisers mentioned, "At 1pm yesterday, an official of Bangladesh Mahila Samiti informed us that Ramna Police Station had called and instructed to stop the theatre festival. We, the festival committee, then contacted the officer-in-charge (OC) of Ramna Police Station. In the evening, we met with him at his office and provided details about the festival.
"Although such an event does not require any permission from the police or the government, the OC assured us after the discussion. We submitted an application seeking security assistance and left," the statement added.
Messenger/JRTarek
