The University Teachers’ Network has made several long-term recommendations to the interim government, including ensuring youth participation in the political process.
They also called for the prevention and prosecution of attacks on art installations, places of worship, shrines, and sculptures, as well as taking positive steps to restore communal harmony.
These demands were raised at a discussion meeting titled "What Do We Want from the Interim Government?" The meeting was held at the Mozaffar Ahmad Chowdhury Auditorium in the Faculty of Social Sciences at Dhaka University at 11am on Saturday.
The Network provided initial suggestions on what the interim government should prioritize immediately. A written statement at the meeting outlined several long-term actions the government should take.
Professor Giti Ara Nasreen of Dhaka University's Department of Mass Communication and Journalism said: "The interim government must first clarify its intentions. The July killings must be prosecuted by the International Court of Justice."
The proposal suggested that the government initiate new community centres in various areas, featuring lists, monuments, and pictures of martyrs from the July massacre and the Liberation War. Arrangements should be made to commemorate them across the country every July.
The proposal further emphasized the importance of youth participation in the political process.
At the meeting, former professor of economics at Jahangirnagar University (JU), Anu Muhammad, warned: "Danger can come from three directions: beneficiaries of previous governments, military and civilian bureaucrats, and those with differing ideologies and politics who are intolerant of others."
The university teachers' network had previously presented an outline for the country's democratic transformation before Sheikh Hasina's resignation. This outline detailed how the resignation would occur, how the new government would be formed, and what it should do.
The primary goal of this outline was to ensure that the interim government, established through significant sacrifice at the dictator's downfall, would not pave the way for a new dictatorial regime, according to the Network
The outline sparked much debate, which the Network viewed positively. It was deliberately brief, intending to expand it through discussion, debate, and exchange of views. Today marks the beginning of that discussion with various movement participants, they added.
Professor Tanzim Uddin Khan of Dhaka University's Department of International Relations called for the preservation of the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum, even suggesting a preservation effort similar to that of the 'Aynaghar' autocratic museum.
The demands put forward to the interim government in the written proposal include the following:
- In the long term, the media should be freed from government influence. The Cyber Security Act should be repealed to ensure people's right to express their opinions, and all innocent persons detained under this Act should be released.
- All syndicates in the commodity market should be abolished immediately, and market management of the agricultural sector should be restored.
- The bureaucracy should be reformed to create a people-friendly administrative system, and the tribunal established to try the July massacre should be impartial.
- The administration should be free from the influence of party politics. All domestic and foreign secret agreements should be made public. The Anti-Corruption Commission needs restructuring to ensure that anti-corruption efforts are not limited to holding only a few individuals accountable.
- Corruption and looting during the autocratic regime must also be prosecuted.
- A new task force on education policy should be formed to prepare the groundwork for formulating a suitable and implementable policy in Bangladesh's changing reality. The abolition, restructuring, and modernization of the existing curriculum should be discussed.
- Efforts should be made to return land to the hill tract people and establish their rights, working together to prevent future land grabbing.
- Expatriates should be treated humanely, not just as sources of foreign exchange earnings; their lives and quality of life should be valued.
- As a matter of urgency, law enforcement must be deployed immediately to protect lives and property, ensuring protection and justice for all, regardless of caste, religion, gender, or class.
- The July killings and brutal repression of the people must be investigated and prosecuted swiftly by establishing a commission of inquiry and a special tribunal with the cooperation of the United Nations.
- To revive the economy, industries must be reopened, and security must be provided for everyone.
