News
Monday, March 04, 2013
Spreading the message of peace through street theatre
* Aika’s peace caravan against extremism, terrorism concludes* Rangers stop artists from staging drama Aman Sab Ka Haq at Wagah
By Kashif Hussain
LAHORE: A weeklong peace caravan of Aika theatre group performing street shows against terrorism in different cities and villages from Multan to Lahore concluded on Sunday.
Though the theatre was willing to stage their street drama titled ‘Aman Sab Ka Haq’ (Peace Everyone’s Right) at the Wagah, the Rangers stopped the group from doing so due to security reasons, claimed one of the organisers.
Resultantly, the organisers rescheduled the concluding spot and ended their peace caravan in front of the Lahore Press Club, staging the same drama on the road for passers-by.
As many as eight artists, including an actress from Multan, were part of the peace caravan which had started its ‘flag march’ on four motorbikes from their native city, Multan, to Lahore to promote religious peace and harmony and condemn suicide bombings and other acts of terrorism in the country.
The peace caravan and the street drama was supported and sponsored by different civil society organisations, especially New Emerging Development Organisation (NEDO) and SADA, while the United Religions Initiatives (URI) received the caravan in Lahore and organised the show at Shimla Hill.
The basic theme of the drama was peace, and the reaction of a monkey over the blood shed in the name of religion.
The artists who played different roles in the street show were: Mustafa Chohan, Imran Sheikh, Raja Salman, Rashid Tanveer, Faisal Chaudhry, Rahila Shah and Zia Shah.
Talking to Daily Times, Mustafa Chohan said that they had tried to perform at Wagah to show the people on both sides a reality that terrorism had no link to the common people, and that they were peaceful and wanted to establish world peace.
He said that when they reached Wagah and tried to get permission to stage their drama, the Rangers stopped them, saying that it was a sensitive area and the subject of the drama was also sensitive, which could harm the sentiments of some people. The Rangers were not available for a comment on the ‘refusal’ to the street artists.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk