Students’ march to submit memo to president today
DU Correspondent :
Students across the country protesting for the reformation of the quota system in all government jobs are set to march en masse towards the President’s office on Sunday.
The demonstrators aim to submit a memorandum calling for an emergency session in the National Parliament to resolve the quota ‘discrimination’ by passing legislation for a permanent solution.
The protesting students have also demanded the withdrawal of a case filed by the police, alleging it to be false. They have given a 24-hour ultimatum for this demand.
At a press conference held under the banner of the Anti-discrimination Student Movement at Dhaka University’s central library, the students announced the new phase of their ongoing movement.
Students outside Dhaka will submit their memorandums to the President through their respective district administrators.
“The mass rally will be held at 11 am today, with participants from Dhaka University, Jagannath University, affiliated seven colleges, and other nearby educational institutions joining from the front of DU’s central library,” said Hasnat Abdullah, one of the coordinators of the movement.
“The ongoing student strike to boycott classes and examinations will continue.
Additionally, we will submit a memorandum to the President seeking an emergency session in the National Parliament to solve this issue,” he added.
Another coordinator, Nahid Islam, accused the government of planning to suppress the movement using law enforcement, the ruling party’s student wing, and others.
“The government should have engaged in dialogue with the students from the beginning and taken visible steps to reform the quota. We want to emphasize that such government plans will not dismantle the protest.”
Demanding the withdrawal of the police case within the next 24 hours, Nahid said, “The police stated during the protest on Thursday that there was no damage, and we have recorded evidence of it.
Therefore, we demand accountability from the police regarding the sudden filing of a case against unidentified students.”
“If necessary, they can file a case against us by name as the police know us well,” Nahid remarked.
Coordinator Sarjis Alam appealed to teachers, reminding them of their past work stoppages and urging them to support the students by not participating in classes and examinations during the student strike.
“The responsibility for the movement rests entirely on the government,” Sarjis added.
“The movement is growing more intense with thousands of students participating. If the government had accepted our logical demands, we wouldn’t have to live on the streets.”
Meanwhile, a case has been filed against the protesters on charges of vandalizing police vehicles and attacking police personnel during the ongoing quota reform movement at Shahbagh.
Khalilur Rahman, a driver from the transport section of Rajarbagh Police Lines, lodged the case with Shahbagh Police Station on Saturday, accusing many unidentified protesters.
In the case statement, it was mentioned that on July 11, the anti-discrimination student movement had a program demanding quota reform.
On that day, the students moved towards Shahbagh and broke the police barricade. At one point, they clashed with police personnel, resulting in injuries to several officers on duty.
It was further alleged that some protesters climbed onto the police APC-25 vehicle and water cannon parked in front of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) hospital and vandalized the vehicles, causing damage estimated at Tk 5 lakh.
The statement also mentioned that the students broke two SS stands in front of APC 25, the radio antenna, the rear wheel guard, and the left-side mirror of the water cannon.
