NEW DELHI: Hundreds of thousands of Islamic conservatives protested in Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka, on Saturday, after staging a “long march” to the Bangladeshi capital to demand the execution of atheist bloggers for what they say is the “defaming of Islam.” “I am just scared about what will happen. I fear for riots and violence,” said one blogger, who told Bikyanews.com he supports freedom of speech and “I hope the protesters will leave and not stay and create tension.” It was the latest protest to rack Bangladesh, deepening tensions between secularists and the largest Islamic party, Jamaat-e-Islami, whose leaders are under trial for crimes committed during the country's 1971 war of independence. The Islamists converged on Dhaka's main commercial hub to protest against what they said were blasphemous writings by atheist bloggers, shouting “God is great — hang the atheist bloggers”. They defied a pro-government national strike by secular protesters — who staged a smaller rival protest in Dhaka on Saturday — aimed at foiling the Islamists' march. two activists of the ruling secular Awami League had died in the last 24 hours in clashes with Islamist demonstrators, bringing to 96 the number killed in violence linked to the war crimes trials. BN
