DHAKA: Irked by the blocking of facebook following the satirical cartooning of country’s top politicians, technology-crazy youngsters Sunday warned the government against taking stand against the young generation.

The warning came from a human-chain demo staged by the students of Dhaka University at the foot of Aparajeyo Bangla to protest the ban on the popular social networking site on the information superhighway.

Hundreds of students joined the demo, carrying placards inscribing various slogans- ‘don’t stand against the youth’, ‘don’t lose 1.5 crore votes of youths’, ‘refrain from turning Bangladesh into a fundamentalist country like Pakistan and Afghanistan’, ‘facebook could not be blocked in Digital Bangladesh’.

The agitated students also threatened to launch a tougher movement if the taboo was not withdrawn.

Earlier on Saturday midnight, the DU students brought out a protest procession on the campus in an instant demonstration against the government action.

The facebook lovers alleged that fundamentalist organizations are engaged in such an act to divert the attention of both the government as well the country’s people from the ‘mischievous acts of the militants”.

The government on Saturday temporarily blocked the facebook access after a youth was arrested for uploading satiric images of some politicians, including Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.  

The youth, Mahbub Alam Rodin, was taken on three-day police remand.

BDST: 18:40 Hrs, May 30, 2010
SRR/RR/SA/LY/MUA