I’m a spokesperson for Bangladesh’s student protesters. Here’s our message to the world.

On June 5th 2024, Bangladesh’s student community took to the streets to protest the reinstatement of the discriminatory quota-based recruitment system for government jobs in Bangladesh. However, the government went on to politicise the movement, labelling the protesters as anti-state traitors before considering their demands.

Protesters soon began receiving threats from cabinet ministers and ruling party leaders. As a consequence of their incitement, on July 15th, the Chhatra League and Jubo League carried out a brutal attack on students at Dhaka University. Female students, pedestrians, and even injured students in hospital were not spared from the attack.

Following this, a joint operation by the police, BGB, RAB, and the army—accompanied by a nationwide digital crackdown blocking the internet—led to a massacre in Bangladesh.

Heavy weaponry such as AK-47s and SKS snipers were used against innocent and unarmed civilians, a blatant violation of human rights and crimes against humanity.

Pedestrians, women, and children in their homes lost their lives alongside the protesters due to indiscriminate firing from RAB helicopters on direct orders from the government. An atmosphere of fear was imposed on the people through enforced disappearances, murders, and mass arrests. Thousands of innocent people have been arrested under false charges and political labelling. We strongly condemn this.

Joint raids by the police, RAB, BGB, and the army are still ongoing in residential areas, with common students and innocent people being arrested and harassed. Meanwhile, the police engaged in bribery schemes — detaining innocent people and then releasing them in exchange for large sums of money. The people of Bangladesh are living in uncertainty, with no security of life and no hope of justice.

From our history, we fear that this time, too, the brutal massacre of students will not be properly investigated. I presume that the judge in charge of the investigation will work to protect the government’s agenda and interests.

Under these circumstances, we are appealing to the United Nations for a fair investigation.

We want an impartial investigation into this murder. Reviewing past history, we see that whenever any state-backed body investigates, the government abuses its power to influence the investigation. Hence, we expect a proper investigation of this murder under the supervision of the United Nations.

Our question to the UN is, why and under which provision were military vehicles and equipment intended for peacekeeping missions used on students and civilians? Isn’t this an abuse of the UN? Isn’t it against the principles of the United Nations?

When the people of this country were being killed with weapons bearing the United Nations logo, the internet was completely shut down. The ordinary people of the country had the impression that they were being targeted as if by a UN peacekeeping mission.

We expect a clear explanation from the United Nations in this regard as soon as possible.

Our expectations from the international community: We, the common students and the young generation of Bangladesh, are going through a difficult time. First, we have been brutally massacred, and countless students have been injured. Now, false charges are being pressed against us. Students are victims of enforced disappearances, torture, and mass arrests.

We, the common students, are living with intense insecurity. Right now, we are seeking international intervention to resolve this situation.

We expect human rights organisations to recognise that Bangladesh is experiencing severe human rights violations. Women, children, elderly people, and young people are not safe inside or outside. Human rights have been violated, and crimes against humanity have been committed with lethal weapons. Students are being forcefully disappeared, murdered, and tortured, with the direct support of government forces and pro-government terrorists.

The current government is creating an atmosphere of fear and imposing curfews, violating people’s fundamental rights. In this context, we expect you, the human rights organisations, to monitor the situation in Bangladesh closely and protect the innocent people, including the common students.

We have expectations from our diaspora, too. Whenever we, the common students of Bangladesh, take to the streets with a rational demand, you support us. So, as always, we hope you will provide us with more support at this critical juncture.●

Abdul Hannan Masud is one of the dozens of coordinators of Students Against Discrimination, a platform for protesting students in Bangladesh. He has assumed a leadership role after other senior leaders were taken into custody by the police. The above text is an abridged version of a video statement given to Netra News. The statement was edited for clarity.