Tri-Cities Bangladeshi community joins worldwide protests condemning student killings

Tri-Cities activists are joining others from across the world in taking to the streets to protest the killings of more than 150 students in Bangladesh amid growing unrest.

From chanting and marching down city streets to demonstrations on college campuses, the goal of these protests is to spread awareness of the deaths and the issues at hand.

Bangladeshi Student Alliances are holding protests on college campuses across the U.S., including at Pullman’s own Washington State University.

The Tri-Cities’ Bangladeshi community held a streetside protest near John Dam Plaza on July 23 to garner the attention of drivers in George Washington Way traffic. More than two dozen locals represented the greater community with signs and messages for the public.

The protests are an immediate reaction to the recent deadly unrest in Bangladesh . What started as student protests of a government-implemented job quota system has grown into calls for reform and for the current government to resign.

Bangladeshi Tri-Citians speak out

The Bangladeshi community of Tri-Cities offered the following statement:

The Bangladeshi community [in Tri-Cities] stands united in unwavering support of the students’ ongoing movement in Bangladesh. We fully express our solidarity with their rightful demands for equal rights and a reformed quota system that ensures fairness based on merit. We vehemently condemn the deplorable attempts to suppress this movement through police brutality, gang violence, and attacks on students. Justice must prevail, and we demand that the perpetrators of these heinous acts be brought to exemplary trials for their crimes.”

One of the protesters in attendance, Rubayet Mortuza, estimated there are about 60 people in the local community, many of whom work for PNNL and Hanford. They are family members, friends, and patrons in Tri-Cities. They were represented by more than two dozen community members on Tuesday, as they held signs to raise awareness.

Signs read “We want freedom and democracy,” and “Stop killing Bangladeshi students,” among other messages. Local children held small versions of the flag of Bangladesh.

Mortuza said the group immediately organized a demonstration after learning of the injustices. The majority of those in attendance have family protesting in Bangladesh, but it has been hard to receive updates with the blackout.

He said it’s not even about family, but about the students. Mortuza said these were peaceful, innocent students, and there was no need for the killings.

“What’s happening is frustrating for us, and also heartbreaking,” Mortuza said. “Those are lives that matter.”

What’s happening in Bangladesh?

The High Court in Bangladesh reinstated the controversial quota system in June, which had been halted in 2018 following previous protests. The system reserves more than half of public sector jobs for specific groups, most for veterans and their families, making it difficult for college students to get good jobs. Bangladesh has been struggling with a high youth unemployment rate , up 10% since 2010.

Protests began again, with students calling for the quota to be cut to 5% for veterans and their families, 2% for ethnic minorities, transgender people and disabled people, with the rest allocated on merit.

Police and military responded to the protests and are accused of escalating to violence. The first six deaths of the conflict occurred at universities in Bangladesh on July 16, and the death count has surpassed 150 in the time since, according to Al Jazeera . Additionally, thousands have been injured and hundreds arrested.

The protests then expanded, in focus, in size and in location. Spreading across Bangladesh, and then the world, activists have condemned the killings and are calling for government resignations.

The government responded with near-complete communications blackouts, strict curfews and total university closures.

While the High Court has approved updates to the quota system, meeting the 95% merit-based allocations demand, the escalations have not been undone. Now, protesters are saying they’ll continue to protest until the new quota system is actually implemented, and a new list of demands has been issued.

Demands from student protests in Bangladesh

While greater demands are circulating, demonstrators have put a time limit on their most imminent demands.

These immediate demands include the release of protesters, lifting the curfew and reopening universities.

Additional demands include the Prime Minister taking accountability for the killings and apologizing publicly, the resignation of multiple ministers and the prompt formalization of quota updates.

Currently, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh is Sheikh Hasina, who secured a fifth term in an election considered controversial at best , and a scam by many.

So far, Hasina’s statements on the unrest have only further angered protesters.

Demonstrators are also demanding:

• The firing of police officers present for student killings
• The resignation of involved universities’ Vice Chancellors
• The arrests of officers and others who attacked students or instigated attacks
• Compensation for the families of the killed and injured
• Guaranteed protection from academic or administrative harassment for protesters
• The banning of the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) from student politics and the establishment of a student union

The BCL is a pro-government student wing, according to Al Jazeera, and effectively operates as a vigilante force for the government. They are also accused of escalating to violence in response to the protests.