Secretary-General of IIFSO, Dr. Mostafa Faisal Parvez, has strongly condemned and expressed outrage over the attacks on students protesting in Bangladesh for quota reform in government jobs, perpetrated by members of the ruling party’s student wing, the Bangladesh Students’ League, and external attackers.
“For the past two weeks, many students have been peacefully protesting across various educational institutions in the country, demanding quota reform in government jobs. Initially, the tolerant approach of the government and relevant authorities in observing the constitutional rights of students to express their opinions and assemble gave us hope. However, violent attacks were carried out on protesting students, including those at Dhaka University, yesterday.
According to media and other reliable sources, female students were also cowardly and indiscriminately injured and disrespected in the attacks. Media reports indicate that six protesting students tragically lost their lives in Dhaka, Chittagong, and Rangpur today. We are horrified, angry, and disappointed by these attacks and deaths. I demand that the perpetrators of these attacks be identified and brought to justice, regardless of their party affiliation.
We hope that students will maintain the peaceful nature of their movement, reflecting the traditions of our country, where students have played a pivotal role in positive national achievements. The government should refrain from using the judiciary as a tool to suppress the students’ logical demands. Instead, they should take the initiative to find a logical, contemporary, peaceful, and constitutional resolution to the quota reform movement. IIFSO expects the government to ensure an environment conducive to peaceful student movements and not resort to inciting conflict to suppress legitimate protests.
We have observed with concern that despite the terrorists being the initial aggressors, there is a sinister attempt to blame the agitating students for the conflict, highlighting the failure of the state apparatus to prevent the attacks. Several government ministers have been directly or indirectly involved in inciting violence, which is utterly condemnable. This must be stopped immediately, and all those involved in the violence must be identified impartially to ensure exemplary justice.
In pursuit of a logical, peaceful, and constitutionally compliant solution to the quota reform movement, IIFSO calls on the government and relevant institutions to ensure a peaceful protest environment, provide immediate medical treatment to the injured, and guarantee the safety of the students. Our support remains with the peaceful protestors and their legitimate demands.”
Dr. Mostafa Faisal Parvez
Secretary-General, IIFSO
