Staff Reporter :
Scientists, officers, and other employees of the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) have submitted a memorandum to the Chief Advisor, outlining 11 demands, including the reinstatement of the Commission’s autonomy and protesting against what they describe as undue interference and authoritarian behavior by the Ministry.
Representatives of 2,500 personnel on Sunday went to the Chief Advisor’s office to deliver the memorandum. Prior to that, from 10 AM to 12 PM, they held a mass gathering and human chain in front of the Commission’s head office. The memorandum submitted also included copies of mass signatures in support of their demands.
The scientists said, “Our movement is not against the government; rather, we seek government intervention to save the Commission. The previous autocratic regime weakened the Commission’s power and placed it under the control of the Ministry to facilitate large-scale corruption and theft in the name of constructing the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant. Despite being the rightful owner of the Rooppur project, the Commission was sidelined and Indians were appointed instead.
Accomplices embedded in the Ministry have continued that legacy, leading to severe discontent.”
Speakers at the program included Dr. A. S. M. Saifullah, President of the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Scientists Association; Dr. Md. Golam Rasul, General Secretary; Sirajul Arefin, President of the BAEC Officers Association; A.T.M. Golam Kibria, General Secretary; Ismail Hossain Mamu, President of the BAEC Employees Welfare Association; and Md. Kamruzzaman Uzzal, Secretary General, among others.
Among the 11 demands are: immediate permanent appointments to vacant posts of Chairman and Members to form a full Commission. The fascist government’s former Minister of Science and Technology and associated bureaucrats deliberately left these posts vacant to weaken the Commission and turn it into a submissive entity under the Ministry’s command.
To maintain the autonomy of the Commission, all Ministry interference in Commission affairs must cease, and a research-friendly and respectful work environment must be ensured. The authority to approve and nominate personnel for higher education and training, both domestically and abroad, must be restored to the Commission. Bureaucratic complexity and discrimination in issuing GOs (Government Orders) for higher education and training must be removed, and the imposition of irrelevant information requirements and mandatory inclusion in WUCHUCH (sic) must be stopped.
To ensure the protection and confidentiality of the Commission’s nuclear information, the Commission must be kept outside the RIAJ++ system, and under Sections 20(1) and 20(2) of the BAEC Act 2017, the Commission must retain the authority to deposit funds in scheduled banks and spend them as per rules. All demoted posts of scientists, officers, and employees must be upgraded to their designated grades to eliminate discrimination.
