Editorial
Campus scene
Release the teachers and restart all academic activities
Dhaka University is going to reopen on October 28 after more than two months of closure due to violence that erupted on the campus in late August, following a clash between the students and the law enforcers. The situation had turned critical and the university had to be closed for obvious reasons.
But that is a matter of the past, which should be left behind, and a fresh beginning made to restart the academic activities for the collective good of the students. The government has taken a number of steps to keep the situation under control and the thought of bringing back a congenial atmosphere to the campus should be uppermost in the minds of all concerned. Nobody wants a repetition of what happened on the campus. It's time to take a pragmatic view of the whole thing and work together to keep the academic process alive. The immediate need is to remove the irritants that might obstruct the normal functioning of the university when it is reopened. It is evident that some sore points will remain unless the four teachers detained for their alleged involvement in the demonstrations are not released as part of plan to defuse tension once and for all. These teachers are respected academicians who enjoy a special position in society. Similarly, the students who are not facing any criminal charges should be set free. The decision makers have to take into account the fact that the situation was very chaotic during those demonstrations and so the responsibility for the sad occurrences was more collective than individual.
Detention of university teachers on charges of their complicity in a students' movement is certainly not something that people are familiar with. Even during the worst days of martial law university teachers didn't face such punitive action.
The government, we believe, has nothing to lose but a lot to gain in terms of its standing in the public eye by taking a lenient position on the arrested teachers. We don't want the law to deviate from its natural course, but its application must be discreet and judicious. Enough time has already been lost and it is the students who are paying heavily for the closure of the universities. So the government is expected to resolve the crisis immediately. And the process should begin with the release of the incarcerated teachers.
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