Seventy four eminent citizens of Bangladesh have demanded justice for the killing of hundreds of students and common citizens centering the students movement seeking a reform in the quota system.
They said there must be investigation into each of the incidents of death, injury and torture of the students and all the peace loving citizens. It is essential that this investigation is done by a team of high-level experts of the United Nations for the sake of transparency, fairness, impartiality and independence.
That is why they called upon the United Nations to take necessary initiatives in this regard.
On behalf of the “aggrieved citizens”, Iftekharuzzaman, Khushi Kabir, Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Sara Hossain, Shamsul Huda and Saidur Rahman sent their statement to the media Monday.
The statement said the citizens watched with sadness and grievances that various forces, including the police, of the state and leaders and activists of the student organisation patronised by the governing party swoop down on the students, who were demonstrating peacefully for a reform in the job quota system since 16 July, at the instigation of several ministers of the government.
It also said from the very beginning, the governing party wanted to portray this peaceful and non-political student movement as a plot of the opposition. On the other hand, allegations have it that the opposition parties also tried to use the agitation in the name of expressing solidarity with it to gain political advantages.
The noted citizens condemned any kind of ill politics behind the killing of students and the people and destruction of state’s assets.
At least 200 people have been killed and thousands sustained critical injuries in disproportionate use of force by the government. The students of government and private universities, various colleges and schools and workers are the overwhelming majority among the casualties. There are several members of the law enforcement agencies and journalists among the casualties.
They noted citizens were especially worried as they thought the actual number of casualties in the attacks of government forces and the ancillary organisations of the governing party was far more. The number could not be confirmed due to the government’s unilateral grip over the internet and the media.
The statement further said there is no precedence of such a large number of casualties in a peaceful movement in the subcontinent, let alone this country, in the last 100 years (except the time of liberation war).
They said they don’t know which language should be used to condemn such killing.
Holding the government responsible for the huge amount of loss of lives, the citizens said violating their oaths and laws, the way several ministers of this government urged the leaders and activists of the party’s student wing to attack the peaceful protesters, this astounded and aggrieved the citizens of the country at home and abroad and well wishers of the country.
They said armoured personnel carriers (APCs) with UN logo were deployed to quell the peaceful protests of the civil citizens of the country, which is a matter of great sadness. The army and border guard also were deployed; curfew was imposed and there was order to shoot at sight. Sound grenades and bullets were allegedly fired from helicopters which is unprecedented in Bangladesh.
Condemning the destruction of assets and installations of the state, the citizens called for bringing to book the perpetrators of the incidents by identifying them through fair and unbiased investigation. They also said that they do not support harassing the general people or oppressing someone who dissents in this excuse.
The government forces reportedly acted like mere spectators instead of taking actions at the time of sabotage. They insisted on investigating such suspicious roles of the law enforcement through fair investigation and publishing the report.
The noted citizens said they were aggrieved as instead of investigating the incidents of opening fire to the people and the students, the police have filed sabotage cases against thousands of unnamed people and arrested several thousands of people, allegedly including peace loving citizens, students and their family members. Several coordinators of the movement were picked up from their homes and tortured physically. Later, they were taken to police custody while they were undergoing treatment, which is unwarranted and oppressive. The media also reported that the police, RAB and other agencies have created boundless fear among the youths, their families and the people through making arrests indiscriminately in “block raids” by dividing areas. They feared this would aggravate the situation instead of making it normal.
In this context, they put forth several demands and asked the people to work responsibly going beyond party and ideologies.
The demands are -
* Every death, injury and torture of general students, peace loving citizens, youths and children by the police, RAB or other forces and armed civilian patronised by the government must be investigated. It is essential that this investigation is done by a team of high-level experts of the United Nations for the sake of transparency, fairness, impartiality and independence. The punishment of the actual perpetrator, whoever he is irrespective of post and party and ideology, must be guaranteed.
* The state should properly announce mourning to pay respect, honour and sympathy to the people who have been killed and critically injured. The government must publish immediately the actual number of common people, students and youths killed and injured from the very beginning of the incident, their names and addresses.
* People’s lives are invaluable. Nothing can compensate for it. Despite this, the government has to accept the liability and pay sufficient compensation to each family; the government must bear the costs of all the injured undergoing treatment at different hospitals; the government must take responsibility for the rehabilitation of the people who have lost their eyes and limbs.
* They condemned the arrests of coordinators of the quota reform movement, organisers, general students and common people in fabricated allegations by the police. Torturing the quota reform movement coordinator Nahidul Islam, former DUCSU vice-president Nurul Haque and some others after detention is akin to violating the constitution and criminal offence. The government has to bring a conducive educational environment by meeting all the demands of the students and taking specific measures to stop gono room, torture cell at university dormitories. They also asked to stop make arrests indiscriminately, taking statements in detention, oppression and suppression and threatening the students and their families and harassing by the police and RAB
* Curfew has to be withdrawn to bring the normal situation. All the helicopters, APC and other equipment that have been deployed on the roads to threaten the students and the people must be withdrawn to their respective places. The government’s grip on the Internet must be stopped to ensure free flow of information. Harassing and negative propaganda against dissenters must be stopped.
They also called on all the noted and responsible citizens of the country to organise a national mourning rally to pay respect and honour the hundreds of deceased, injured, oppressed students and common people by the police, RAB and other forces of the state.
The signatories are:
1) Sultana Kamal, human rights activist
2) Dr Hamida Hossain, human rights activist
3) Khushi Kabir, human rights activist
4) Dr Shahdin Malik, law expert and constitutional expert
5) Rasheda K Chowdhury, human rights activist
6) Dr Wahiduddin Mahmood, economist
7) Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman, Economist
8) Professor Anu Muhammad, Economist
9) Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, economist
10) Dr Meghna Guthakurta, human rights activist and researcher; 11) Advocate ZI Khan Panna
12) Dr. Iftekharuzzaman, human rights activist
13) Dr Asif Nazrul, professor
14) Shireen Haque, women's rights activist
15) Advocate Syeda Rizwana Hasan
16) Shamsul Huda, human rights and indigenous rights activist
17) Dr Badiul Alam Majumder, researcher and observer
18) Barrister Sara Hossain
19) Professor Parveen Hasan
20) Professor Gitiara Nasreen
21) Professor Md Tanjimuddin Khan
22) Professor Dr Sumaiya Khair
23) Professor Mushtaq H Khan
24) Professor Mirza Taslima Sultana
25) Professor Firdous Azim; 26) Professor Bina de Costa
27) Professor Shahnaz Huda
28) Professor Saeed Ferdous
29) Professor Robaet Ferdous
30) Professor Dr Nova Ahmed
31) Professor Dr Naveeda Khan
32) Dr Swapan Adnan, Educator
33) Dina Siddiqui, Educationist
34) Dr Nasrin Khandaker, Postdoctoral Researcher
35) Dr Samina Lutfa, Associate Professor
36) Farha Tanzin, associate professor
37) Maidul Islam, Associate Professor
38) Dr Rizwana Karim Ghadha, Associate Professor
39) Md Saimum Reza Talukder, Senior Lecturer
40) Subrata Chowdhury, Senior Advocate
41) Tabarak Hossain, Senior Advocate
42) Barrister Shubhra Chakraborty, human rights activist
43) Dr Sharif Bhuiyan, Advocate
44) Advocate Saidur Rahman
45) Advocate Priya Hasan Chowdhury
44) Advocate Sharmin Khan
46) Nasser Bakhtiar, former banker
47) Abu Saeed Khan, journalist
48) Sayeda Gulrukh, journalist
49) Salim Samad, journalist and media rights activist
50) Sharmin Murshid, human rights activist and observer
51) Faustina Pereira, human rights activist
52) Dr Rushad Faridi, human rights activist
53) Rezaul Karim Leylin, researcher and rights activist
54) Noor Khan, human rights activist
55) Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, human rights activist
56) Sadaf Noor, researcher and human rights activist
57) Dr Tasneem Siraj Mahboob, human rights activist
58) Dr Shahidul Alam, photographer and social worker
59) Rahnuma Ahmed, writer and researcher
60) Altaf Parvez, writer and researcher
61) Ahmed Swapan Mahmud, poet and writer
62) Zakir Hossain, human rights activist
63) Mahin Sultana, human rights activist
64) Rozina Begum, researcher and rights activist
65) Bareesh Hasan Chowdhury, researcher
66) Rezwan Islam, researcher and rights activist
67) Jahanara Khatun, human rights activist
68) Fazila Banu Lily, rights activist
69) Arifa Hafeez, human rights activist
70) Ishrat Jahan Prachi, rights activist
71) Dipayan Khisa, human rights activist
72) Hana Shams Ahmed, Indigenous rights activist
73) Muktsree Chakma, women rights activist
74) Arup Rahi, cultural activist.