Will Bangladesh's student movement turn into a revolution?
Will Bangladesh's student movement turn into a revolution?
The situation in Bangladesh is considered the worst since the country was founded in 1971.
A week after the Bangladesh Supreme Court cut quotas that sparked riots in which over 200 protesting students were killed, the situation is simmering. They carry out "block raids" and arrest suspected troublemakers. The situation is considered the worst since the country was founded in 1971.
The situation is desperate. The ruling party and the government are mobilizing police, rapid response battalions and the army to crush the movement. My student, Abu Sayeed (25), fell victim to their bullets. Bangladeshi political commentator Professor Nazmul Ahsan Karimullah told TNIE that the situation remains tense as young people are being rounded up and put in cells in the name of "block raids".
Abu Sayeed's family received a compensation of Tk 950,000.
Armed police are reportedly knocking on doors in random order to find and arrest those deemed troublemakers.
"Our statistics (we have a complete list) confirm that 266 people have been killed in these protests. "We do not believe that the current government is legitimate. It has remained in power through brutal violence which has led to serious human rights violations. The opposition has also been silenced. A mere student protest will soon turn into a revolution against the government," Pinaki Bhattacharya, an exiled Bangladeshi blogger and human rights activist, told TNIE.
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