75 CU teachers issue 5-point demand, condemn crackdown on students
A group of 75 teachers from Chittagong University (CU) has issued a five-point demand and strongly condemned the government's crackdown on students demanding quota reform.
In a joint statement issued on Tuesday (30 July), the CU Anti-oppression Teachers' Unity described the violence against students as "very sad, unwarranted, and unintended."
The five-point demand includes ensuring a fair trial by conducting a judicial investigation into every killing, organised under the auspices of the United Nations; immediately stop the killing, mass arrest, and torture of students, release the arrested students immediately, withdraw all false cases filed against them, and stop harassment; all state administrations, including universities, must perform their responsibilities with full impartiality.
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They also demanded universities should expel non-students and outsiders from the halls; reopen university halls, and distribute seats based on merit to restore the educational environment and all educational institutions, including universities, should be opened immediately.
The teachers labelled the quota reform movement as a logical and non-political movement, accusing the government of using excessive force to suppress the agitation. They highlighted a disturbing pattern of killings, disappearances, and mass arrests of students, claiming that over 266 students have been killed.
The teachers also criticised the government's decision to shut down the internet, which they believe was an attempt to conceal the brutal crackdown.
They claimed that the torture and arrests of protesting students continued unabated, describing this as the first such barbaric example since the country's independence.
The unity leaders include Prof Dr Fuad Hasan (Marketing Department), Prof Dr Saidur Rahman Chowdhury (Institute of Marine Sciences), Prof Dr Iqbal Hossain (Accounting), Dr Md Shahidul Haque (Department of Communication and Journalism), Prof Dr Muhammad Alamgir (Marketing Department), Prof Dr Mohammad Afzal Hossain (Psychology), Prof Dr Mir Hossain Sohel (Marketing Department), Prof Dr Hossain Shaheed Sarwardy (Marketing Department), and Prof Dr Jamal Uddin Ahmed (Electrical and Electronic Engineering) among others.
