Sarjis against mass arrest of BCL members

Sarjis Alam, a coordinator of the Anti-Discrimina-tion Student Movement, said yesterday that he did not favour mass arrest of Dhaka University students solely because of their affiliation with recently banned Bangladesh Chhatra League.

He clarified his position in a Facebook post last night, saying many students, including those from the movement, had been compelled to join BCL in the past.

Sarjis also said his post was specifically about DU, where the protests were primarily led by students residing in the halls until July 15.

Those familiar with DU halls know that students had to participate in BCL programmes and attend meetings, according to him.  

About 80 percent of the BCL's hall committees were typically comprised of students who joined the organisation to secure good accommodation and other reasons, Sarjis said.

Among the remaining 20 percent, many misused their power; some oppressed dissenters, while others aspired to leadership positions within the hall units, he said.

The most significant contributions to the first phase of the movement came from those 80 percent students who had to join BCL for different reasons, he said.

If certain BCL members had not come out from the halls, the other students would not have had the courage to join the protests, Sarjis added.

These BCL members' participation also prevented the BCL leadership from stifling the protests, Sarjis said.

"Now the question is if I should label these students from the halls with the BCL tag and put them in the banned category. The answer is: 'No'.

"I'll never support mass arrest solely targeting those who were members of the BCL on the campus. This cannot happen."

Sarjis continued, "Those who stood beside me in the struggle for justice, risking their lives against the obstacles created by the BCL, are my brothers. I'll support them. The truth remains the truth, regardless of what anyone else may say."

Sarjis had previously been involved in BCL politics. He had been elected member of Amar Ekushey Hall council during Dhaka University Central Students' Union and hall council polls in 2019 from the BCL panel.

The interim government banned BCL on October 23 as a "terrorist organisation" for brutal and deadly attacks on students during the mass uprising, and its misdeeds in the past 16 years.    

Hundreds of leaders and members of BCL's DU and hall units were accused in two cases filed earlier over attacks on DU students on July 15. Some of them have already been arrested.