BANGLADESH: Support the Ongoing Struggle of Students and Masses Against the Hasina-Awami Fascist Government’s Repression,

Support the Ongoing Struggle of Students and Masses Against the Hasina-Awami Fascist Government’s Repression, Killings, Forced Disappearance and Mass-Arrest in Continuation of the Quota Reform Movement in Bangladesh

We know from different media that on June 5, 2024, the Bangladesh High Court issued an order to restore the quota system in government jobs in Bangladesh. The division of the quotas is as follows: children or grandchildren of freedom fighters-30%, women-10%, districts-10%, tribal people- 5%, and disabled people- 1%, totaling 56%. Even in 2018, when students protested to reform the quota system, the Bangladesh government canceled the entire quota and threatened to reinstate it if they continued protesting. But in June 2024, the quota was reinstated by the Court based on an appeal by Freedom Fighter’s children. Consequently, protests broke out again. Under the pressure of the student movement, the High Court suspended its decision for one month. However, as the students could not trust the High Court, they asked the Prime Minister to reform the quota system. The High Court also ruled that the Prime Minister could change the quota system by executive order.

But we saw that on July 14, 2024, the Prime Minister said in her speech “… When the court has spoken, when it has gone to court, when it has given its verdict, I have no right to stand against the verdict at this moment. My constitution does not say it, parliament does not say it, procedure rules do not say it. We have nothing to do until we get a solution from the court.” She also said, “…the children of the freedom fighters, the grandchildren are not so talented, as the children of Razakar are talented, right?(said mockingly) They (Protesters) say that they are not talented but they are defeated by them (Freedom Fighters Quota Holders). But the freedom fighters won the war. The Rajakars did not win. They did not win even by fawning over the Pakistanis.”

The Prime Minister did not say anything against the High Court’s verdict but called the protesting students “Rajakars”. In response to this insulting statement by the Prime Minister, we see in the media that students from various universities across Bangladesh held peaceful protests on July 15, 2024, demanding the withdrawal of the Prime Minister’s statement and quota reform. Their slogan was “Who are you and who am I? Rajakar, Rajakar / who said? who said? Autocrat, autocrat.” But the Bangladesh State and its sell-out intellectuals misrepresented this slogan, saying that the students were calling themselves Rajakars. In response, the thugs of the Hasina-Awami fascist regime, the Police League, and the Chhatra League launched armed attacks on unarmed students without provocation, injuring many. On July 16, 2024, students from various universities across Bangladesh staged protests again, during which the police and Chhatra League opened fire, killing at least six people (four students and two pedestrians) and injuring more than 500 others. Students protested massively against it. Students started evicting the terrorist Chhatra League from the halls of the universities, especially from the halls of Dhaka University. Chhatra League was defeated despite them throwing hundreds of threats. The government deployed the BGB (Border Guard Bangladesh) i.e. paramilitary force, attacking thousands of students.

Following this, the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement declared a complete shutdown across the country. On July 18, along with the students, people of different classes also participated in this movement in various ways. Police, BGB, and terror league all opened fire on the crowds of the students and masses.

When the students and masses of the country and abroad started opposing these attacks, internet was completely disconnected from July 18 to keep the outside world in the dark, and the police, BGB, SWAT, and snipers were deployed, killing several hundreds. From the night of July 19, the army was deployed, and a curfew was imposed. Even the newspapers reported the death toll to be 213 until now. There is no doubt that the actual number is much higher. The Hasina government has, to divert the students’ fair movement, tagged the protesters as Jamaat-Shibir (Islamic religious organization) and continued the killings, enforced disappearances and mass arrests(more than 11000). They have resorted to ill tactics of arresting the coordinators of the movement and subjecting them to physical and mental torture and forcing them to read statements against the movement. The fascist Hasina government has been seen lamenting for the state wealth which has been ruined in various places. However, she was not seen accounting for so many fresh lives and neither was she saying anything about it. (Source: Various News Media)

We strongly condemn and protest this state-sponsored killing in Bangladesh. We believe the quota reform movement is logical. Even after 53 years of the establishment of Bangladesh, maintaining the quota for freedom fighters is baseless. Quotas are needed to bring forward the underprivileged segments of the populace. After 53 years, the children and grandchildren of freedom fighters do not fall under the category of backwardness. In that respect, the logical demands of the students must be accepted. The Hasina government should immediately accept the 9-point demand that the “Boishommya Birodhi Chatro Andolan” students have given. At the same time, we strongly demand that the police and Chhatra League involved in this murder-spree be brought under immediate justice. And we call upon the student protestors to raise the demand for the fall of this fascism, and unitedly carry forward the movement until victory. Even if Awami fascism is ousted, the power of the broad masses, including workers, farmers and the middle class, will not be established. For this reason, it is necessary to oust all imperialism, Indian expansionism and broker ruling class including the US, China, Russia, EU and establish a democratic government of the masses including the workers-farmers-middle class. So support the movement to overthrow all imperialism, Indian expansionism and crony ruling classes and establish a democratic government of the masses including the workers-peasants-middle class.

# Red Salute to the struggling students of Bangladesh

# Red Salute to the martyrs of the ongoing movement

# Long live the international unity of the students and the masses

# Smash the fascist powers of the world

Organizations/Countries:

1. People’s Democratic Students Unity(PDSU), Bangladesh

2. Chatra Gonomancha, Bangladesh

3. Revolutionary Student-Youth Movement (RS-YM), Bangladesh

4. All Nepal National Independent Students Union (Revolutionary), Nepal

5. Revolutionary Students’ Front, West Bengal – India

6. Democratic Students’ Association, Kerala – India

7. Portsmouth Marxist Students, England

8. All Burma Federation of Student Union, Myanmar

9. Revolutionary Students’ Group, Portland – USA.

10. Lal Morich – National Organizing Committee, USA

11. Edinburgh University Justice for Palestine Society

12. Aberystwyth University Vigil For Palestine

13. University of Leicester Palestine Society

14. University of Surrey students for Justice in Palestine

15. Students of Alareer Square (Liverpool Encampment)

16. Bangor University Encampment for Palestine

17. University of Strathclyde Palestine Solidarity Society

18. Cymru Students for Palestine

19. Manchester Camp of Resistance for Palestine

20. The people of Leila Khaled’s Hall

21. Oxford Action For Palestine

22. Newcastle apartheid off campus

23. Durham Students for Palestine

24. Lancaster Palestine solidarity encampment

25. Red Birds (Liverpool)