E-Bangladesh

The symbol of revolution. This photo has spread across the world like fire.

[Mashuqur Rahman, USA.]

During last week’s mass protests in Bangladesh a demonstrator, possibly a student, lunged toward a Bangladesh army man with his feet raised in anger. The army man was running in fear to escape the fury all around him. A photographer from the Daily Star newspaper captured the moment in a dramatic photograph that has stripped bare the iron fist of the Bangladesh military. The man flying through the air is Bangladesh’s “Tank Man.” Just like “Tank Man” today his whereabouts are unknown. The Bangladesh military hunts him.

The BBC has labeled the image the “photo the Bangladesh military cannot stand.” To the army the image represents humiliation. So the army struck back in revenge. Students were pulled out of apartments and beaten publicly, journalists were detained and beaten mercilessly, and five prominent university professors were detained and tortured.

Thursday two of the professors, Dr. M Anwar Hossain and Dr. Harun-or-Rashid, were brought back to court to extend their interrogation (torture) period by another four days. Under the military’s watchful eye, the judge ordered them returned to custody for further interrogation. In court the two professors protested of torture, which the judge refused to enter into the record:

The two teachers of Dhaka University, detained in the wake of last week

Photo: General Moeen Uddin Ahmed.

[Zafa Noor, USA.]

A day after the most controversial adviser of current government Mainul Hosein claimed the current government was a “national government backed by the army,” General Moeen Uddin Ahmed decided to put the chip back in its place by the following statement:

“I don’t think so. Government is here and it’s a caretaker government

Photo: Anwar Choudhury, British High Commissioner in Dhaka.

[Mashuqur Rahman, USA.]

On August 26, the British High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Anwar Choudhury, apparently went off the reservation. After meeting with the foreign advisor in Dhaka Mr. Choudhury was the only foreign envoy to face the media. He apparently had a lot to say.

He described the protests and riots last week in Bangladesh as something “sinister.” The Daily Star quoted him as follows:

“Our assessment from what we have heard is that it was initially spontaneous and then it was not. It became much more than the incident. It soon became something much bigger, something much sinister,” said Anwar to the media, adding, “A lot of money and coordination came into the equation.”
…
The Bangladeshi-born British envoy added, “Most neutral people could not understand why the escalation went into that dimension and that has caused a lot of question marks among the people.”
…
Anwar said Britain’s assessment that the incidents were coordinated, stemmed from the fact that the demonstrations continued even after the government had issued an apology and met the students’ initial demands by withdrawing the army camp from the Dhaka University campus.

[Emphasis added.]

It is striking that the High Commissioner makes the bombshell claim, a day after the Bangladesh army chief made the same claim, that “a lot of money and coordination” was involved and the protests had become something “sinister”. He claims that his government’s “assessment” is based on the fact that the demonstrations continued even after the government apology and the withdrawal of the army camp. There is a giant leap from the High Commissioner’s observation to his claim. If indeed the High Commissioner has not gone off the reservation and was representing the position of the British government, it is incumbent on the United Kingdom to back up Mr. Choudhury’s claim with some evidence. Otherwise the British government is simply spinning conspiracy theories into a cauldron that is already spilling over with rumor and innuendo.

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 TK, Sanjeeb: English [8:33m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 TK, Sanjeeb: Bangla [9:17m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

[In his second round of interview with Tasneem Khalil, M Sanjeeb Hossain, son of detained DU Professor Anwar Hossain, detailed what his father told him about the DGFI “black hole,” his torture and what happened in the court. Considering its significance, this pod was recorded both in English and Bangla.]

While reporting the military crackdown on university students and teachers in Bangladesh, in one of our earlier pods, we quoted our sources close to the military headquarters in Dhaka who confirmed to us that detained DU professors “Anwar Hossain and Harun-or-Rashid are right now in the custody of DGFI, the military intelligence agency. They are detained in a torture-cum-detention facility inside the DGFI headquarters in Dhaka cantonment,” with a note saying, “We are not able to verify this from an official or independent source.”

Professors Anwar Hossain and Harun-or-Rashid were produced to the Dhaka CMM court Saturday that sent them into 4 days of remand. They were charged by the police for “making provocative and anti-state statements.”

While Professor Anwar Hossain was standing in the dock, his son M Sanjeeb Hossain had a chance for a quick chat with him. Confirming what we reported earlier, Anwar Hossain told Sanjeeb that he and Professor Harun-or-Rashid were in DGFI custody, in a place called “black hole” inside the DGFI headquarters in Dhaka cantonment. There they were tortured: physically and mentally.

Meanwhile, BDNEWS24 is reporting,

Prof AFM Yusuf Haider Saturday said chief adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed had assured that the two detained teachers would be treated with honour. The acting vice chancellor of Dhaka University made the disclosure at a press conference at his home after a meeting with the chief adviser at about 3.30pm. A Dhaka court ordered remand for DU teachers Prof Anwar Hossain and Harun-or-Rashid Saturday after they were arrested with alleged links to the DU violence. The acting vice-chancellor said that none would be unnecessarily harassed in the cases filed in connection with the clashes on the campus. The law enforcers had been directed to make sure that nobody is unnecessarily harassed, Prof Yusuf quoted the CA as saying. He said that the chief adviser had told him the teachers would get proper legal aid.

…

Our sources close to the military HQ confirmed that two top officials of the DGFI, Brigadier Generals Chowdhury Fazlul Bari and ATM Amin, personally hold these DU professors responsible for the utter humiliation Chowdhury Fazlul Bari [our report with a video] had to suffer in DU days back. To settle this score, Professors Anwar Hossain and Harun-or-Rashid are going to be framed in treason/sedition charges. Once again, “we are not able to verify this from an official or independent source.”

[display_podcast]

[Podcast by Tasneem Khalil: Military crackdown on university students and teachers in Bangladesh. With an interview with M Sanjeeb Hossain, son of Professor Anwar Hossain. Professor Anwar Hossain is now believed to be in DGFI custody.]

[Audio feed.]

[Rush transcript/elements.]

A brutal military crackdown is on against thousands of university teachers and students in Bangladesh. Members of Bangladesh army led by major or captain-ranking officers are raiding residences of students and teachers who in the last few days started protesting against the current state of emergency in Bangladesh and demanded withdrawal of army and police from all the campuses.

We are receiving disturbing details of these raids from Dhaka and elsewhere.

In one incident, as the BBC Bangla service reported, platoons of army members entered a residential-cum-commercial complex near Dhaka University searching for students. Each and every apartment was searched and all the students residing in the building were taken to the landing area where they were mercilessly beaten up by soldiers in wide public view. After that, they were tied up and driven away in army trucks to an unknown destination.

We received an email from Dhaka and I am going to quote from that: