Thousands join protest march in Dhaka, demand govt’s resignation

Several thousand people have joined a protest march in Dhaka called by teachers and civil society members to protest the recent killings and subsequent harassment over the quota reform movement. 

The march started from the national press club premises and ended at the Shaheed Minar on the Dhaka University campus, via Doyel Chattar and TSC. They chanted various slogans to press home their demands.

Participants, including teachers, students, guardians, leaders and activists from different student organisations, and civil society members, started gathering in the press club area much before the scheduled time, 3:00 pm. 

Before the march, Anu Muhammad, former professor of economics at Jahangirnagar University, addressed the crowd and said their only demand is the government’s resignation and bestowing the power upon the public. 

“We have nothing to demand from the government. Many trials have been due… The July Massacre must be tried. Now, the main agenda is how the democratic transformation would take place in Bangladesh,” he said.

The march began around 3:30 pm and reached the Shaheed Minar around 4:15 pm. On the occasion, public health expert Mushtaq Hossain, Dhaka University teachers CR Abrar, Asif Nazrul, development economics expert Maha Mirza, among others, were present. 

Ragib Nayeem, president of the Chhatra Union, demanded that the mass arrests be stopped, the arrestees be released, the curfew be lifted, the educational institutions be reopened, and the government resign by Sunday. 

If the demands are not met within the stipulated time, he declared that they would bring out a mass procession from the national press club at 3:00 pm on Sunday.