Teachers’ Network asks Salahuddin Ammar and other student reps to halt activities beyond authority

The University Teachers’ Network has condemned the activities that exceed the authority of elected student representatives at various universities.

In a statement issued today (Sunday), the teachers’ network also called for such actions to be halted immediately.

The statement comes in the wake of efforts by the Rajshahi University Central Students’ union (RUCSU) general secretary, Salahuddin Ammar, to force the resignation of six deans at Rajshahi University.

Referring to activities of a certain quarter under the leadership of Salahuddin Ammar, the teachers’ network highlighted a pattern of their mob-like behaviour and the harassment of both students and teachers.

“In an attempt to establish a reign of terror on campus, the RUCSU general secretary has repeatedly crossed all boundaries of decency, publicly declaring that if any pro-(Awami) League teachers enter the campus, they will be ‘dragged by the collar and tied up in front of the administrative building’. Moreover, RUCSU vice-president Mostakur Rahman Zahid announced that ‘no Awami fascist teacher will be allowed to conduct classes at Rajshahi University’. He also incited calls for the expulsion of the Indian High Commission from Rajshahi. Needless to say, these elected representatives are directly or indirectly associated with the politics of Islami Chhatra Shibir,” the statement reads.

The University Teachers’ Network considers such conduct by RUCSU leaders as a direct assault on academic freedom. The resulting “spiral effect” has already spread to other educational institutions across the country, the platform added in the statement.

Demanding the swift arrest of those responsible for the killing of Osman Hadi, the statement further says, “Following the shooting and tragic death of young politician Sharif Osman Hadi, opportunistic groups have exploited the ensuing atmosphere of despair and outrage to engineer a series of deeply unwarranted incidents. The interim government has failed to arrest the perpetrators of the killing, yet terrorist attacks have been carried out on two leading national dailies—Prothom Alo and The Daily Star—as well as on two historic cultural institutions, Chhayanaut and Udichi.”

The statement adds, “After Osman Hadi’s death on 18 December, RUCSU vice-president Mostakur Rahman Zahid threatened to shut down Prothom Alo and The Daily Star. Meanwhile, Mostafizur Rahman, general secretary of Islami Chhatra Shibir at Jahangirnagar University, called for the destruction of Udichi and Chhayanaut, triggering widespread instability and mob violence from educational institutions into the public sphere. We have also observed that at least one (Islami Chhatra) Shibir leader from Dhaka University was directly involved in the attacks. It appears that, alongside other instigators behind the arson attacks on the night of 18 December, elected representatives of RUCSU and JUCSU, as well as leaders of (Islami) Chhatra Shibir, were involved in similar criminal acts.”

The Teachers’ Network has demanded an end to the harassment and ultra vires terrorist activities carried out on university campuses by student representatives and members of a particular political group.

The statement further asserts that Jamaat-e-Islami must rein in the subversive activities of leaders of its student wing, Islami Chhatra Shibir.

It also calls for an end to the culture of granting impunity by dismissing such acts as the “personal opinions” of those involved—just as was done in the case of the now-banned terrorist organisation, (Bangladesh) Chhatra League.