Demand for Professors' Release in the UK

Demand unconditional and immediate release of five eminent university teachers of Bangladesh

Tuesday September 04 2007
Bangladesh community in the UK

Press statement: Bangladesh community in the UK demand unconditional and immediate release of five eminent university teachers of Bangladesh

Prof. Anwar Hossain
Prof. Harun Ur Rashid
Prof. Saidur Rahman Khan
Abdus Sobhan
Moloy Kumar Bhowmik

A meeting of Bangladesh community in the UK was held at the Montifiory Centre in East London on 30th August 2007 to discuss the recent situation in Bangladesh following an incident at Dhaka University on 20th August 07 and to demand unconditional release of five eminent professors. Speakers in the meeting raised grave concern about current situation and stated that the incidence of Monday (assault of a student by army personnel in Dhaka University football ground) acted as a spark to ignite this anger and frustrations into an engulfing flame of mass agitation.

Speakers stated that the accumulated anger of the students and people generating from the continuously deteriorating problems of the day life of the people created the background for the electrifying spread of the spontaneous mass agitation to all parts of the country and among all sections of the people. The uncontrolled rise of prices of essentials, the repeated increase of the price of petroleum fuel, gas, electricity, water, fertilizer etc. , the large indiscriminate privatization of jute mills, banks etc. at the dictate of World Bank and IMF, large scale retrenchment of workers and atrocities against them, the inhumane uprooting of hawkers, roadside shops and markets, slums etc. and other anti-people measures and mistakes of the Caretaker Government during the last 7 months created frustrations and anger among the people.

Speakers termed the arrested teachers as the conscience of the nation and condemned the current Regime for unjust arrest and alleged mental and physical torture of the teachers in custody. They stated that people of Bangladesh would like to see the Regime to act within the remit of a Caretaker Government and should not have any political agenda other than holding a free and fair election.

The meeting was presided by Mujibul Haque Moni, a leader of UK JSD and conducted by Monjurul Azim Palash, President of Col. Taher Sangsad, UK. Speakers include among others: Sultan Mahmood Sharif, UK Awamileague, M. Hussain, Commonwealth Institute of Architects, Syed Enam, Communist Party of Bangladesh, Mohammed Belal Ahmed, London Bangla Press Club, Syed Faruk, community activist, Abdur Rahim, ex-councillor, Syed Rakib, teacher and community activist, Syed Anas Pasha, journalist, AKM Yahya, teacher, Ansar Ahmed Ullah and Ahad Chowdhury Babu of Intl. Forum for Secular Bangladesh, Dr Akter Sobhan Masrur, Workers Party of Bangladesh UK, Zahid Hasan Chowdhury, Dhaka University teacher, Santunu Majumder, Dhaka University Teacher, Rezwan Ahmed, journalist, Shiplu Chowdhury, community activist, Imtiaz Ahmed, teacher and politician, and Abu Hasan Mishu, social activist. Dr Peter Caster of International Forum for Democracy in Bangladesh sent a letter to the meeting demanding release of the arrested teachers.

Bangladesh community in the UK
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