City TV News, 05/08/2018
The ongoing protests led by students in Bangladesh have transformed into a fierce fight for justice and basic human rights, as government forces respond with violent repression.
What started as a call for safer roads and accountability for reckless bus drivers has escalated into a national outcry against the abuse of power. The children—our future—are being attacked, maimed, and harassed in broad daylight by forces acting with complete impunity. These aggressors, described as 'unidentifiable miscreants,' are doing so with greater clarity than the sky above us, and questions are rising about the source of their power.
This protest is no longer just about road safety. It's about the right to peaceful protest and assembly, rights that were fundamental in the birth of this nation. It’s about our fundamental right to document the wrongs unfolding before us, without having our phones or cameras destroyed, or worse, being brutalized.
It’s about our right to speak out, without our access to mobile internet being severed or facing arrest for spreading "rumors" that threaten law and order. It's about our right to live free from the very injustices our country fought so hard to free itself from less than 50 years ago.
We are fighting for the very freedoms that our ancestors gave their lives for, yet it feels like we are still far from realizing those promises.
The catalyst for this outpouring of anger was the tragic deaths of several schoolchildren on July 29, 2018, at the hands of a reckless bus driver. What followed was a peaceful protest demanding safer roads and stricter regulations for drivers.
The students have made it clear that their intention has always been peaceful, but their demands are being met with extreme violence. On August 2, 2018, members of the police and Chatro League—an influential student organization—attacked the students with tear gas, beat them severely, and sexually assaulted several female protesters. In their defense, students armed with sticks and branches, which they found in the streets, tried to protect themselves from the unprovoked assault.
The violence has already claimed the lives of four students and left several others severely injured, including four female students who were raped. Despite these atrocities, the government has remained disturbingly silent.
We urgently need your help. We ask that you amplify this critical issue through your media channels, as local outlets are being silenced. The voices of these children need to be heard, and the truth must be exposed to the world.
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