councilor.org
| Source | Dave Anderson |
| Date | 99/05/01/21:29 |
| /* Written 2:07 PM May 7, 1998 by jshell@netcom.com in igc:labr.all */ /* ---------- "War On Campus" ---------- */ Forwarded message: > From andersd@spot.colorado.edu Thu May 7 13:51:29 1998 > Date: Thu, 7 May 1998 14:44:14 -0600 (MDT) > From: ANDERSON DAVID > Subject: War On Campus (fwd) > > South China Morning Post > > Internet Edition > _________________________________________________________________ > > Friday May 1 1998 > > Campus wars spark shoot-on-sight threat > > BANGLADESH by Arshad Mahmud in Dhaka > > Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed is considering ordering police > to shoot armed students on sight as campus violence spirals out of > control. > > It follows the death of a brilliant student in a shoot-out between > rival groups at Dhaka University last week, which once again > focused national attention on campus bloodshed. > > The situation has become so bad that one professor at the > university says some days he is afraid to allow students to leave > his lecture room. > > "You hear the sound of shooting and home-made bombs every day - > morning, afternoon and night," said Serajul Islam Chowdhury, a > professor of English. > > "Some days it is too dangerous for me to let my students leave the > classroom after the lecture. Killing has become a part of the > political system on campus." > > The latest victim of violence that has claimed more than 300 lives > in the past 24 years was Partha Pratim Acharya, the 62nd student to > be murdered at Dhaka University. > > The breakdown of law and order on campus has forced university > officials to suspend classes for weeks, postpone exams and cancel > sporting and cultural events. > > They, together with independent observers, blame the violence on > student wings of major political parties along with turf battles > over scarce resources, such as campus housing. > > Most confrontations are "dormitory grabs" by rival student groups > seeking valuable living space. There are 25,000 students at Dhaka > University; its 11 dormitories can accommodate 5,000. > > Hidden caches of weapons, including a rocket-propelled grenade and > sub-machine gun have been found during police raids on dormitories. > > Acharya died when the pro-Government Chatra League took control of > three dormitories, driving out supporters of the opposition > Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), allegedly with police > protection. > > National parties vie for support on university campuses, which have > long played a role in Bangladesh's volatile politics. > > In exchange for their support, student groups got extraordinary > powers over dormitory-room allotments, campus construction projects > and food vendor concessions. > > Campus rivalries have been further exacerbated by chronic > unemployment which has dimmed graduates' hopes of finding jobs. > > This has created "professional students", who continue their stay > on campus long after they have graduated, becoming easy targets for > political parties offering pay for patronage. > > On Tuesday, the Prime Minister offered to abolish her student > front, provided other parties reciprocated. > > However, her offer was spurned by BNP chief Begum Khaleda Zia, who > described her overtures as "insincere and hypocritical". > > _________________________________________________________________ > > Copyright 1998 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. > All Rights Reserved. |
Copyright (c) 1998, Joongpil Cho