Dhaka University observed a “black day” Friday, marking the 6th anniversary of the military crackdown on the university and the repression of several teachers and students on August 23, 2007.
Teachers and students, wearing black badges, attended a conference at around 11am held at the university’s Teachers and Students Centre (TSC), in which DU Vice-chancellor AAMS Arefin Siddique was present as the chief guest.
Demanding restitution for the repression, Arefin alleged it was staged by the same people that killed Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1975, along with many freedom fighters and intellectuals after the war for liberation. He also urged the government to ensure justice in the case and implement the recommendations of the committee formed to probe the incident.
Among others, the university’s treasurer Professor D. Mohammad Kamal Uddin, Teachers Association president Professor Farid Uddin Ahmed, Officers Association general secretary Sayed Ali Akbar, and other teachers, officials and students were present on the occasion.
On August 20, 2007, students of the university were engaged in a heated argument with some members of the army following a football match, which escalated to the students being physically assaulted. This triggered a widespread agitation by both teachers and students.
On the night of August 23, 2007, the military arrested four teachers and eight students of the university and allegedly tortured them.
