July 29, 2024
DHAKA – We are dismayed at the law enforcement measures being taken by the government which, in an already volatile situation ensuing from the brutal crackdown on protesters, will only serve to intensify public distrust and fear. Let’s focus on the way students are being dealt with, leaving aside the violence and destruction caused by groups taking advantage of their movement. According to media reports, police have picked up five key organisers of the quota reform protests. First, they detained Nahid Islam, Asif Mahmud, and Abu Baker Majumder from a city hospital on Friday afternoon; Nahid and Asif were undergoing treatment there after being picked up and tortured earlier. Then, on Saturday evening, detectives picked up Sarjis Alam and Hasnat Abdullah.
Meanwhile, police have filed a First Information Report (FIR) regarding the death of university student Abu Sayed which completely contradicts the widely circulated video footage of him being shot by police from a close range. The FIR accuses 2,000-3,000 unidentified men, including BNP and Jamaat-Shibir activists, of the killing. It is incredible what lengths are being taken to distort the facts. The Amnesty International has independently verified the video footage using satellite images to geolocate the positions of Sayed and responsible police officers, and found that they were about 15 metres apart during the shooting. As seen in the video, Sayed posed no threat to the police. Yet they repeatedly shot him, leading to his death.
In addition to these intimidating and unlawful measures, we have also heard of various cases being filed against university students along with the arrests of thousands of other people, many associated with BNP and Jamaat. For example, according to a report published yesterday, police on July 21 sued 20 students of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, along with many unnamed people, for “demonstrating unlawfully” and “assaulting police”.
If the government is trying to “normalise” the situation through such tactics, it is the wrong way to do it. No matter what kind of counter-narratives it creates, the government cannot ignore people’s concerns about the unprecedented number of deaths centring on the quota reform movement. Instead of trying to mitigate the severe deficit of trust, of the students in particular, the government has decided to take the hardline once again. Picking up protest leaders while they are undergoing medical treatment is illegal, and will only serve to further corrode students’ faith in its sincerity to solve the crisis and harm any prospect of dialogue with them. Similarly, denying the role of law enforcement and other security forces in the deaths of students and other people and arresting student protesters will further add fuel to the fire.
This is not the time to try to control the situation with fear, intimidation, and distortion of facts, nor will it be helpful. The government must immediately release the five student organisers and allow them to get treatment and home. It must ensure their safety and that of all other students, put a stop to legal harassment, and discard the FIR in question (and others that may follow) that deliberately falsifies truths. And it must own up to the fatal mistakes it has made and sincerely try to heal the deep wounds inflicted on the students and the public as a whole.