Families of the persons killed in Bangladesh‘s student protests on Tuesday placed 11-point demands, including rehabilitation by providing jobs, before the interim government which is set to be formed to replace the ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina‘s regime.
The death toll in the massive protests following Hasina-led government’s announcement of the quota system in jobs has risen to 440, with more than 200 people killed in the renewed spell of violence towards the weekend as violent clashes erupted between police and mostly student protesters.
A statement, signed by Harun-ur Rashid, the convener of a proposed “Committee on Families of Injured and Killed in Anti-Discriminatory Student Movement”, said an initiative has been taken to collect accurate data on the families of the students, children, youth, elderly, men and women who were injured and killed in the violence.
The demands include providing Tk2,000-3,000 per month as a grant for all students from pre-primary to Masters based on age under a “Food-Card” programme, unemployment allowance of Tk3,000 to job aspirants, formation of an inquiry committee consisting of armed forces and students for the treatment of the injured in the anti-discrimination student movement and the speedy rehabilitation of the affected families, the Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported.
The demands also include direct government scholarships to students in private universities, changing the name of the educational institution established after various individuals of the Sheikh Hasina family and naming those after the martyrs Pilkhana Shaheed army officer, and also in memory of the martyrs killed in various movements and anti-discriminatory student protests.
Inclusion of the neutral ex-army and police force members of the peacekeeping mission in the United Nations on an urgent basis to improve the ongoing law and order situation and also the inclusion of Bangladesh National Cadet Corps (BNCC) and Bangladesh Scouts as their partners, the committee demanded.
The demand also included taking a quick initiative to recover all the illegal weapons used in the movement in the past days, consideration of redeployment of all categories of honest and efficient officers-employees who were deprived of promotion/compulsory retirement due to oppression and discrimination during the previous government.
Speedy recovery of money of big defaulters and money smuggled abroad, the speedy trial of big defaulters and money smugglers in military courts, and the inclusion of at least one person in the interim government from the active student families of the anti-quota movement, the injured families and the deceased families, it said.
The committee offered its deepest condolences to the bereaved families of those killed and injured in the movement and congratulated the army officers and soldiers at all levels of the armed forces, including the chief of the Bangladesh Army.
Meanwhile, in a video message issued by the police headquarters’ media and public relations division on Tuesday, Inspector General of Police Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun urged leaders of all political parties and the Students Against Discrimination to make a call for not carrying out attacks on the police members and their establishments.
He said the army men have been assisting the police to ensure their security.
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