JU: Teachers from other universities join in solidarity rally
Eminent citizens, including teachers from various universities, have been joining in the ongoing protests demanding resignation of Farzana Islam, vice-chancellor of Jahangirnagar University, since Wednesday morning.
The next agenda of the movement will be announced from the rally, said Shovon Rahman, organisational secretary of Samajtantrik Chhatra Front.
Agitating students will hold a rally on the university premises before joining in the solidarity congregation, he said. Teachers and other notable persons began entering Murad Square adjacent to the new arts faculty building at 10:00am, Shovon added.
Earlier, the university was shut down for an indefinite period following clashes allegedly between protesting students and activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) on Tuesday.
Students were asked to vacate their dormitories by 5:00pm that day, but agitating students and teachers rejected the decision and staged demonstrations at the bus depot of the university. A number of teachers and BCL activists also took position in front of the VC's residence.
Most of the male students from eight dormitories did not vacate the halls either. Female students too joined in the demonstrations breaking the locks of their dormitory gates in the night.
Though many female students took part in the movement, a large section of them left the halls after the university closure announcement. They vowed that demonstration will be continued till the VC resigns. Two senate members of the university, Abul Kalam Azad and Shihab Uddin Khan, expressed solidarity with the movement.
Earlier, the protesters confined the VC to her residence since Monday afternoon. BCL activists swooped on them on Tuesday morning while 35 people including seven teachers were wounded.
Shibir is involved in the anti-VC movement, acting proctor of the university ASM Firoz-ul-Hasan, claimed while speaking to Prothom Alo adding that the university authorities have evidence regarding this.
VC Farzana Islam thanked BCL after they along with a section of the teachers chased away the demonstrators from around her residence Tuesday. "The students and teachers have solved the crisis through an uprising today," she told the media and added, "I'm grateful to my collegues, students and especially, to BCL."
After holding an emergency syndicate meeting, Dhaka police super was asked to send 300 police men to handle the situation.
University BCL leader Jewel Rana denied attacks on the demonstrators saying Chhatra League only rallied against Shibir, but not against the common students or anti-VC demonstrators.
It was not actually an attack, acting proctor Firoz added. It was more of an argument or minor collision, he claimed.
General students were enraged by the shutdown decision as many of them could not manage bus tickets.
Demonstrations were initiated two and half months ago by a section of teachers and students under the banner of 'Durnitir Biruddhe Jahangirnagar' (Jahangirnagar against corruption). Protesters claimed VC Farzana Islam had given huge money to the BCL, student wing of the ruling party, from the development projects of the university.