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Published on August 22, 2007
The current military backed caretaker government (CTG) of Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed cannot, and should not get away with the responsibilities of the brutal and merciless attacks on the students of Dhaka University carried out by Army & Police and the violent aftermaths that followed. Although there had been some initial praise for army's rule in the current CTG, whatever goodwill existed for the army is evaporating fast as has been evident in the Dhaka University clashes and unrest over the past days. The ugly incidents which were sparked off by clear heavy-handedness by Army and police personnel seem to have been added to by even more violence by the police on the campus. And this, in turn, led to violent retaliation by the students torching vehicles and rioting, adding fuel to the fire in a metaphorical sense. We cannot, however, condemn the students here because their sentiments were only inflamed by the brutal force used against them. There have been repeated assertions by Gen Moeen that the Army has little interest in politics and all they are doing now is help the CTG ensure road to a more peaceful, stable and corruption-free democracy. His assertion now appears dubious considering the Dhaka University violence. Student activism in Bangladesh has a long history preceding the current crisis and going back, indeed, to the struggle for independence from British rule and from there through the horrors suffered by the nation during the movement for Independence which finally led to freedom in 1971. Even in independent Bangladesh students took active part in many protests and agitations against undemocratic and autocratic regimes such as the '90s mass movement against the military ruler Ershad. Therefore, students in Bangladesh have a tradition of involving themselves in activities that focus on human rights and issues of national importance. Their retaliation to an assault on them was, therefore, an expected response, if not entirely a proper one. While the Army has offered to dismantle a camp on the University Campus and to investigate its men's behavior, we would like to say that this is not enough. A professional force which has earned many accolades for it's performance outside the country in UN peacekeeping missions should know how to behave in it's home country. It should also have no problem investigating these incidents and bringing to task those responsible for them. Power needs to be tempered with responsibility. It is to be hoped that the virtually unlimited powers enjoyed by the army in Bangladesh at the moment would force it to act with ultimate responsibility in this case as well as for as long as the army rules. As an organization dedicated to the cause of freedom, Mukto Mona condemns this brutalization of students at Dhaka and other universities where the agitation seems to be spreading. We call on the government to take immediate action to end the violence from official agencies and bring the crisis to an end. Failure to do this would only inflame the goings on further. They would also cast a larger and darker shadow on the army than the army has been able to cast on itself. Absolute power demands absolute responsibility.
Mukto-Mona Moderation Team August 22, 2007 see our other petitions and statements
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