TL;DR:
- Student leader claims 2,000+ martyrs and 40,000-50,000 injured in anti-dictatorship protests in Bangladesh
- Sarjis Alam criticizes previous government’s power abuse, comparing it to a coup d’état
- Alam urges students to protest injustice constructively, including through social media
- Emphasis placed on education and attending good universities for personal growth and societal change
Sarjis Alam, the central coordinator of the anti-discrimination student movement, has made a startling claim about the recent protests in Bangladesh. Speaking at Panchagarh Government Girls’ High School on Sunday morning, Alam stated that more than 2,000 students had been martyred in the anti-dictatorship movement, with an additional 40,000 to 50,000 injured.
Addressing students in the school’s conference room, Alam criticized the previous government’s actions, saying, “If the government of a country thinks that it is the government of the people, then they cannot do this to the people just to retain power. They had much more power than the people or the country. At that place there was a coup d’état of twenty-four.”
The student leader encouraged the young audience to be vigilant against future abuses of power. “In the coming days, if you see someone abusing power, doing injustice, doing irregularities, doing corruption, then you must protest from your place,” Alam urged. He emphasized that protest could take various forms, including constructive criticism on social media, even if students were unable to take to the streets.
Alam also stressed the importance of education in effecting change. “You must study well and graduate from a good university,” he advised the students. “Remember one thing, the better university you go to, the better platform you will get to develop yourself.”
The event, chaired by the head teacher of Panchagarh Government Girls’ High School, provided a platform for students to exchange ideas with the movement’s leadership. Fazle Rabbi, the school’s coordinator, also spoke at the gathering.
This claim of over 2,000 martyrs represents a significant escalation in the reported impact of the recent student-led protests in Bangladesh. However, it’s important to note that these figures have not been independently verified, and official casualty numbers may differ. The statement underscores the intensity of the recent political upheaval in the country and the central role that student activists have played in challenging the previous government’s authority.
Source: Prothom Alo
