As many as 200 academics, workers and student groups from universities in the United Kingdom (UK) declared their solidarity with the ongoing Bangladesh student movement. This was informed by Sami (X: @ZulkarnainSaer) via a social media post on X. Sami is a Reporter for Al Jazeera Investigations.
"We recognise that students' demands for reform of the civil service reservation quota for descendants of veterans speak to the broader issues of rampant cronyism and corruption of the Bangladeshi government, as well as high rates of unemployment and inactivity and diminishing possibilities for youth in Bangladesh," their statement says.
They went on to condemn the repression of the movement through police forces and the ruling party's student wing.
"We also recognise how the repression of students and youth in Bangladesh mirrors the escalating repression against the rising tide of student movements in British universities, including, most recently, student encampments in solidarity with Palestine across dozens of universities," they went on to state.
They pointed out the training provided to the Rapid Action Battalion by Britain which "has become notorious for extrajudicial killings and is currently engaged in the repression of Bangladeshi youth", the statement said.
A few of the signatories are:
1) Abeera Khan - SOAS, University of London
2) Abhinav - The University of Edinburgh
3) Adam Elliott-Cooper - Queen Mary University of London
4) Adam Whittock - Birkbeck College
5) Adnan MS Fakir - University of Sussex
Students in Bangaldesh are slowly limping out of the internet shutdown which was imposed following the protests against the new quota system and the unemployment crisis in the country.
