Statement by 74 distinguished Citizens Protesting and Demanding Investigation of Every Incident under UN Supervision

Seventy-four distinguished citizens of the country have demanded justice for the hundreds of students and ordinary citizens killed during the movement for quota reform. They have stated that each incident of students and peace-loving citizens being killed, injured, and tortured during the movement must be investigated. To ensure transparent, fair, impartial, and independent investigations, it is crucial that these be conducted under the supervision of a high-level expert team from the United Nations. Therefore, they are urging the United Nations to take the necessary steps in this regard.

In a statement sent to the media today, the ‘Concerned Citizens’ made this demand. The statement from the distinguished citizens expressed deep sorrow and anger, observing that since July 16, peaceful students demanding quota reform were subjected to unprecedented repression by violent activists from the ruling party’s student organization, provoked by various government officials, including several responsible ministers. The entirely peaceful and non-political student movement has been portrayed by the government as a conspiracy by political opponents from the start. On the other hand, there are allegations that the opposition also tried to use the student movement for their political advantage under the guise of solidarity.

The distinguished citizens condemned any form of political opportunism behind the sabotage resulting in the deaths of students and ordinary people and the destruction of public property. They stated that at least two hundred people have lost their lives due to government force. Thousands have been seriously injured, the majority of whom are students from public and private universities, various colleges, and schools, as well as ordinary working people. Several members of law enforcement were also killed or injured in various violent incidents, as were some journalists.

They expressed particular concern that the actual number of casualties due to attacks by government forces and ruling party organizations might be significantly higher and more severe, hidden due to the government’s exclusive control over the internet and media.

The distinguished citizens noted with profound sorrow that such a high number of casualties in such a short period during a peaceful movement is unprecedented in the past hundred years (excluding the genocide by Pakistani forces during the Liberation War) in the country and even in the subcontinent. They stated that they do not have adequate words to condemn or protest against such killings. The primary responsibility for these deaths lies with the government. The manner in which several government ministers irresponsibly incited their student supporters to attack peaceful protesters has left the nation and well-wishers of Bangladesh both domestically and internationally stunned, deeply angry, and heartbroken.

The citizens also observed with deep pain that armored vehicles bearing the United Nations logo were deployed to suppress peaceful civilian protests. The military and border guards were mobilized, curfews imposed with shoot-on-sight orders, and sound grenades and allegedly live ammunition were used from helicopters—unprecedented actions in Bangladesh’s history.

They noted that several public institutions, establishments, and properties were damaged due to sabotage during this movement, which is unacceptable. They demand that those responsible for these acts be identified and punished according to the law through fair and impartial investigations. However, they emphasized that this should not be used as a pretext to suppress dissent or harass ordinary people. Media reports indicate that during incidents of sabotage, government forces sometimes remained passive spectators, which requires investigation and public disclosure.

The citizens expressed their extreme anger that instead of investigating the casualties and attacks on students and the public, the police have filed sabotage cases against thousands of unidentified people, arrested thousands, and detained many innocent citizens, students, and their family members. Reports indicate that several coordinators of the student movement were abducted from their homes and physically tortured, and later taken into police custody from hospitals where they were receiving treatment—actions that are highly inappropriate and oppressive. Media reports also mention that the police, RAB, and other forces conducted ‘block raids’ and indiscriminate arrests, spreading immense fear and terror among the public, families, and youth. This will exacerbate the situation instead of normalizing it.

In this situation, the distinguished citizens have presented several demands to the government in the interest of the nation, the future of students, and the overall safety and focus on education. They also call on the people of the country to rise above party lines and actively and responsibly participate.

The demands are:

1. Investigation of Incidents: Every incident where ordinary students, peace-loving citizens, teenagers, and even children were killed, tortured, or injured by the police, RAB, other forces, or armed non-government individuals backed by the government during the quota reform movement must be investigated. To ensure transparent, fair, impartial, and independent investigations, they must be conducted under the supervision of a high-level expert team from the United Nations. Therefore, they are urging the United Nations to take the necessary steps in this regard. The real culprits, regardless of their high positions or party affiliations, must be punished according to the law.
2. Official Mourning: To show the nation’s sympathy, respect, and honor towards those killed and seriously injured, the government must officially declare appropriate mourning. The government must immediately disclose the exact number, names, and identities of those killed, injured, and affected from the start of the incident to the present.
3. Compensation and Responsibility: The government must take responsibility for those who lost their lives and provide adequate compensation to their families. The government must also bear the full responsibility for the proper treatment of those injured and undergoing treatment in various hospitals. The government must take responsibility for rehabilitating those who lost their eyes, hands, or legs.
4. Release of Detainees: The citizens expressed strong indignation over the reports of fabricated charges and arrests of coordinators, organizers, and ordinary students of the quota reform movement. They denounced the severe torture inflicted on some, such as Nahidul Islam and former Daksu VP Nurul Haque, stating it is a violation of the constitution and equivalent to criminal offense. These activities must cease immediately, and specific measures must be taken to stop the torture centered around dormitories and torture cells. The government must restore a healthy environment in educational institutions by accepting all the students’ demands. Indiscriminate arrests, detentions, forced statements, repression, intimidation of students and their relatives, and the unchecked harassment by the police and RAB must stop immediately.
5. Lifting Curfew and Restoring Normalcy: To restore normalcy, curfews must be lifted. All armored vehicles, helicopters, and other equipment deployed to suppress and intimidate students and the public must be withdrawn immediately. The government must end all control over the internet to ensure free flow of information. Harassment of dissenters and the spreading of disinformation against them must stop.

Finally, the distinguished citizens called on all responsible and prominent citizens to organize a national civic mourning event in memory of the hundreds of students and people killed, injured, and oppressed by the violent attacks of the police, RAB, and other forces in recent days, to show empathy and respect towards them.

Signatories:

1. Sultana Kamal, Human Rights Activist
2. Hamida Hossain, Human Rights Activist
3. Khushi Kabir, Human Rights Activist
4. Shahdeen Malik, Lawyer and Constitution Specialist
5. Rasheda K Choudhury, Human Rights Activist
6. Wahiduddin Mahmud, Economist
7. Hossain Zillur Rahman, Economist
8. Anu Muhammad, Professor and Economist
9. Debapriya Bhattacharya, Economist
10. Meghna Guhathakurta, Human Rights Activist and Researcher
11. ZI Khan Panna, Senior Lawyer
12. Iftekharuzzaman, Human Rights Activist
13. Asif Nazrul, Professor
14. Shirin Haque, Women’s Rights Activist
15. Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Lawyer
16. Shamsul Huda, Human Rights and Land Rights Activist
17. Badiul Alam Majumdar, Researcher and Observer
18. Sara Hossain, Lawyer
19. Parveen Hasan, Professor
20. Geeti Ara Nasrin, Professor
21. Md. Tanzimuddin Khan, Professor
22. Sumaiya Khair, Professor
23. Mushtaq H. Khan, Professor
24. Mirza Taslima Sultana, Professor
25. Firdaus Azim, Professor
26. Bina D’Costa, Professor
27. Shahnaz Huda, Professor
28. Saeed Ferdous, Professor
29. Robayet Ferdous, Professor
30. Nova Ahmed, Professor
31. Navida Khan, Professor
32. Swapan Adnan, Educator
33. Dina Siddiqi, Educator
34. Nasrin Khandaker, Postdoctoral Researcher
35. Samina Lutfa, Associate Professor
36. Farha Tanzin Titil, Associate Professor
37. Maidul Islam, Associate Professor
38. Rizwana Karim Snigdha, Associate Professor
39. Md. Saimum Reza Talukder, Senior Lecturer
40. Subrata Chowdhury, Senior Lawyer
41. Tabarak Hossain, Senior Lawyer
42. Shubhro Chakraborty, Human Rights Activist
43. Sharif Bhuiyan, Lawyer
44. Saidur Rahman, Lawyer
45. Priya Hasan Chowdhury, Lawyer
46. Nasir Bakhtiar, Former Banker
47. Abu Saeed Khan, Journalist
48. Saeeda 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. Rushad Faridi, Human Rights Activist
53. Rezaul Karim Lelin, Researcher and Rights Activist
54. Nur Khan, Human Rights Activist
55. Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, Human Rights Activist
56. Sadaf Noor, Researcher and Human Rights Activist
57. Tasnim Siraj Mahbub, Human Rights Activist
58. Shahidul Alam, Photographer and Social Worker
59. Rehenuma Ahmed, Writer and Researcher
60. Altaf Parvez, Writer and Researcher
61. Ahmed Swapan Mahmood, Poet and Writer
62. Zakir Hossain, Human Rights Activist
63. Mahin Sultana, Human Rights Activist
64. Rozina Begum, Researcher and Rights Activist
65. Barish Hasan Chowdhury, Researcher
66. Rezwan Islam, Researcher and Rights Activist
67. Jahanara Khatun, Human Rights Activist
68. Fazila Banu Lily, Rights Activist
69. Arifa Hafiz, Human Rights Activist
70. Ishrat Jahan Prachi, Rights Activist
71. Dipayan Khisa, Human Rights Activist
72. Hana Shams Ahmed, Indigenous Rights Activist
73. Mukti Sri Chakma, Women’s Rights Activist
74. Arup Rahi, Cultural Worker

Source: Prothom Alo, Online Edition 29/07/2024