Demands Chhatra Jote; 'BCL's act tarnished DU image'
Pragatisheel Chhatra Jote, an alliance of leftist student organisations, staged a solidarity rally on the Dhaka University campus yesterday Friday), demanding punishment of Chhatra League activists for carrying out attacks on protesting students and alliance activists at different educational institutions across the country.
Several public university teachers and some leftist political leaders took part in the rally at the foot of Raju Memorial Sculpture.
“The university teachers have forgotten the role of a teacher and have appeared like 'political cadres' and 'bureaucrats'. Had the teachers played their due role, such incidents would not have happened,” said Prof Anu Muhammad, member secretary of the National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas and Mineral Resources, Power and Ports.
He also called upon the university students to stand together against the injustice to overcome the present situation.
Speaking at the programme, Ganasanghati Andolon Chief Coordinator Zonayed Saki said, “The university authorities are supposed to listen to any logical demand of the students. But during some recent incidents, we saw that they kept themselves inside the office and locked the gates to it, obstructing the students from raising their demands.”
He alleged that although the Chhatra League members had once stood for students' logical movements, nowadays they were being used by the university authorities to suppress any logical movement.
President of Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) Muzahidul Islam Selim, educationist AN Rasheda, Prof Gitiara Nasreen of mass communication and journalism department and MM Akash of economics department of the DU also spoke at the programme, chaired by Imran Habib Ruman, convenor of Pragatisheel Chhatra Jote.
On Tuesday, several hundred BCL men from the DU attacked a group of students and leaders and activists of leftist student organisations to “rescue” DU Vice-Chancellor Prof Akhtaruzzaman, who was besieged by the protestors to press home a four-pint demand in front of his office. At least 50 students and two journalists were injured in the attack.
Meanwhile, 46 teachers of different public universities in a joint statement yesterday (Friday) said the photographs and footage of the Tuesday's attack by BCL men saddened them.
“The use of the pro-ruling party student body for suppressing the movement has badly tarnished the image of the university and marred its pride,” the statement reads. The DU authorities didn't play an impartial role in tackling the situation, the teachers added.
They said besieging the VC's office was a conventional programme and locking the main entrance to it to foil the programme was not acceptable since the entrance remained open the following day when a group of BCL men besieged the office demanding expulsion of protesting students.
The teachers demanded withdrawal of cases against the protesting students.
- Courtesy: The Daily Star Jan 27, 2018
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