Following the attack, Tutul went to Norway early this year and is living there as one of the International Cities of Refuge Network’s guest writers, where he is continuing to write poetry and hopes to start an online magazine, according to English PEN.
Addressing the awards ceremony at the British Library, Tutul called on his critics to counter his views in writing, rather than with violence.
“There is a strong effort in Bangladesh to turn the wheels of civilisation backwards and repeat the events and lies of a barbaric era – but we cannot allow this initiative to go unchallenged.
“We are challenging this process through rational thinking and through our writing. Anyone who wishes to counter them can do so through their writing. But please do not issue fatwas to have me, to have us, killed. Do not dispatch undercover assassins with knives and guns.”
Tutul said somehow he survived the attack, but the joy of unexpected survival fades when he remembers the killings of the secular bloggers and free thinkers in Bangladesh, and those living in “total insecurity”.
He noted that many of the bloggers and writers, who are currently living in neighbouring countries of Bangladesh for security reasons, have their visas expired and are living in isolation with their wives and children in foreign lands.
He sought attention of international organisations to their predicament, and requested that they be given secure sanctuaries and the opportunity to lead normal lives.
Source: The Daily Star
