Public university teachers strike in protest
Public university teachers yesterday wore black ribbons while observing a countrywide three-hour work abstention from 10:00am and a one-hour sit-in from noon demanding an immediate trial over Prof AFM Rezaul Karim Siddiquee's murder in Rajshahi city's Shalbagan area on April 23.
The Federation of Bangladesh University Teachers' Association (FBUTA) leaders are scheduled to join a protest rally at Rajshahi University (RU) today and hand over a memorandum to Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal tomorrow demanding justice and security for university teachers.
Addressing a programme FBUTA and Dhaka University Teachers' Association organised at Dhaka University's Bottola, FBUTA President Farid Uddin Ahmed said, “The state's detective branches and law enforcement agencies showed their failure after the recent consecutive killings.
“If they can not ensure security for people, they have to resign,” he said.
In RU, over 300 teachers, students and cultural activists went around the campus in a procession in silence and joined a rally at “Mukul Mancha”, a platform taking Prof Rezaul's nickname.
His daughter Rizwana Hasin Shotovi urged for a quick trial and requested keeping the agitation going, “otherwise ensuring justice will be impossible”.
Rajshahi University Teachers' Association President Prof AFM Rezaul, said, “It is mysterious that there is no sign of progress in the investigation although 10 days have passed since the murder.”
The students brought out a procession carrying four coffins, symbolising the murder of four RU teachers in the past 12 years. Later, over 200 teachers staged the sit-in.
Chittagong University Teachers' Association General Secretary Prof Sukanta Battacharje advocated for capital punishment to stop recurrence of such murders.
Prof Muhammed Zafar Iqbal said, “The security situation of the country is not as good as it looks...because our coworkers are in fear of their lives...are now frightened because they are liberal, culturally involved and some of them used to write.”
Teachers of the Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Begum Rokeya University and Sylhet Agriculture University also observed the day's programmes.
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