In Bangladesh, Protesting students for quota reform in government jobs on Saturday has announced their next course of action programme.
Rifat Rashed, Abdul Hannan Masud and Mahin Sarker, 3 coordinators of the anti-discrimination student movement, held the briefing from a secret location in the background of three of their fellow leaders of the movement having been picked up and taken into custody by police from hospital on Thursday.
After the briefing it was learned that two more leaders had been picked up on Saturday, reports private news agency United News of Bangladesh (UNB).
Their demands include enactment of a law in the parliament through forming a commission in regards to quota reform, and warned of a street movement tougher than ‘complete shutdown’.
Their other demands are return of those who disappeared and release of arrested protesters with withdrawal of false cases; and removal of those, from minister to constable, involved in the violences.
Meanwhile, 14 foreign missions stationed in Dhaka have jointly written to Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud seeking a sustainable solution to the issue to ensure a lasting peace in the country, reports UNB.
The joint letter was sent to the foreign minister on Wednesday which was issued by the missions of the European Union, United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Canada, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Australia.
International Appeals
In an open letter to the United Nations Human Rights High Commissioner Volker Türk, 140 international scholars from across the globe have requested immediate action against continuing violence, intimidation, and repression in Bangladesh.
‘Please find a petition on behalf of more than 140 scholars, writers, and public intellectuals to request immediate action in the continuing violence, intimidation, and repression in Bangladesh by the Sheikh Hasina Government against students, teachers, journalists, exercising their right to protest,’ said the letter, a copy of which was shared by Indian writer Amitav Ghosh on his social media platform X, on Friday.
On Saturday, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina made the remarks after paying a visit to a hospital in Dhaka that the nationwide mayhem was a part of a conspiracy to completely cripple the economy to make Bangladesh again a country of beggars, reports Bangladesh Sanghbad Sangstha (BSS).
The prime minister said the BNP-Jamaat clique did such incidents in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2023 and killed a number of people by carrying out widespread violence and arson terrorism, reports BSS.
By – Navalsang Parmar (Dhaka)