The Rajshahi University unit of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, the student wing of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, staged demonstrations on the campus Thursday, demanding punitive action against pro-Awami League teachers and officials accused of suppressing the student movement during the July mass uprising.
More than a hundred leaders and activists of JCD brought out a protest procession in the morning and held a rally in front of the university鈥檚 central library to press home their demands.
During the rally, the protesters displayed the names and photographs of 21 teachers, including former vice-chancellor Professor Golam Sabbir Sattar, and former pro-vice-chancellors Professor Sultan Ul Islam, Professor Humayun Kabir, and Professor Chowdhury Md Zakaria. They alleged that these individuals played active roles in stifling the student protests.
Addressing the rally, RU JCD president Sultan Ahmed Rahi said that they had repeatedly urged the university administration to take action against what he termed 鈥榗ollaborators in oppression鈥�, but no steps had been taken.
鈥楾he administration remains silent. It continues to operate by betraying the blood of students,鈥� Rahi said.
鈥楢fter consulting with students, we have publicly identified 21 teachers complicit in the repression so that the authorities can take action under existing laws,鈥� he added.
He also alleged that the accused teachers not only attempted to suppress the movement but also aligned themselves with Bangladesh Chhatra League goons and either participated in or facilitated attacks and torture on general students.
RU JCD senior vice-president Shakilur Rahman Sohag warned that they would not allow the university to hold the central students鈥� union elections until the accused teachers are brought to justice.
JCD leaders further threatened to launch a tougher movement if their demands were not met.
