The statue of Lady Justice in front of Bangladesh Supreme Court in Dhaka on May 1. The statue was removed on May 25 night after hard-line Islamists objected to it, but it was reinstalled in front of the annex building of the court two days later. (ucanews.com photo)
Authorities in Bangladesh reinstalled a Lady Justice statue outside the Supreme Court May 27, two days after it was removed after protests by Islamists.
The sari-clad statue of woman holding a sword and scales, representing the Greek goddess Themis, a symbol of justice and fairness, was removed on May 25 after complaints it was located too close to the national Eid prayer grounds.
The move was to appease Islamists, but sparked street protests from liberal and secular groups in Dhaka and other parts of the country.
The statue was reinstalled in front of the court's annex building as a compromise.
Father Albert T. Rozario, convener of Dhaka Archdiocese's Justice and Peace Commission called both the removal and replacing "insulting and politically-motivated."
"It was mistake for the government to remove and then relocate the statue. You can't make someone alive after death, and you can't call a sculpture complete if that's done as patchwork," added Father Rozario.
Radical Islamist group Hefazat-e-Islam, which led the objections to the statue, expressed fury over the re-installation.
"We are stunned and speechless. The re-installation of Themis on the first night of Holy Ramadan is playing up with religious faith and sentiments of the nation. People will not tolerate this mockery," its chief Shah Ahmed Shafi said in a statement on May 28.
Litan Nandi, president of the Bangladesh Student Union, which protested against the removal, said the government can't take a middle ground on the issue.
"We won't back off from our stance on reinstalling the statue in the previous location. By appeasing radicals, the government is helping them to flourish and one day they will swallow our country," he said.
