‘Killings during quota protests state-sponsored’
All the killings that took place during the quota reform protests were state-sponsored and carried out by the forces of the state and its associates, said Prof Salimullah Khan of University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh yesterday.
Salimullah, while talking at a programme in front of the university, also said considering the current situation, an international probe is certainly necessary for a "credible investigation into the killings". He also expressed skepticism whether people will get justice over the killings.
Wearing red clothes, teachers of ULAB held a sit-in in front of the university entrance in the morning, demanding the release of students who were arrested during the protests, the withdrawal of cases filed against them, an end to oppression, and a peaceful environment for education.
Salimullah said they are extending their support to the killed, injured, disappeared, and persecuted people.
The government, without going to the problem's root, is now saying they will slap a ban on this party or that party. This will not even scratch the surface of the main problem. Rather, this will make it more complex.
He said the question of whether all will have the right to compete for government jobs is not nonpolitical; rather, it is a political one.
"But instead of going towards a political solution to this question, the government first wanted to ignore it. It later resorted to repression," he said.
"The government, without going to the problem's root, is now saying they will slap a ban on this party or that party. This will not even scratch the surface of the main problem. Rather, this will make the problem more complex," he added.
"The problem should be resolved politically. For the first step in this political solution, the government should unconditionally apologise and resign. Without this step, we cannot take any step towards a new system," he observed.
"A safe learning environment must be restored in the universities. If our students can't come, whom will we teach, what will we teach?" Salimullah asked, demanding the release of all arrested students.
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