DU students burn Netanyahu's effigy, condemn Biden

In light of the Israeli war on Gaza and the Biden Administration's attack on the protesting students at the universities of the US, the students of Dhaka University have staged a demonstration protesting the Netanyahu government's aggression and the US government's one-eyed behaviour.

The rally was formed in front of Dhaka University’s anti-terrorism Raju sculpture around 3pm on Sunday.

Teachers and students from halls and abroad joined the rally with flags and placards demanding an immediate ceasefire of the Israeli war on Gaza.

Nakib Mahmud Nasrullah, professor of the law department of Dhaka University, expressed his solidarity with the students and said: "Today (Sunday) we have come here being motivated and inspired by humanity. Today we stand for the oppressed people of Gaza. It is not important to be a Muslim to stand with the people of Palestine. Being human is good enough to stand with and for them. Such massacres have shattered all the history of the world. No war has killed so many women and children since the first World War.”

Marking Netanyahu and Joe Biden as criminals, he said: “Netanyahu and Biden are the direct supporters of this war and they are war criminals. Movement for Palestine has started all over the world. All university students in Bangladesh should wake up to this movement. All their plots and conspiracies will end through this movement.”

Ariful Islam Apu, a lecturer of the management department of Dhaka University, said: “We all are aware of what is going on in Gaza. There was nothing new to say about it. Our movement is not against any particular group. This movement is against those states that are the destroyers and dangers to humanity. The world has never seen such a thoroughly documented genocide. Even after witnessing this amount of documented genocide, the world is unable to take any action against it. As a result, we have to bring questions to the whole system.”

However, the students also talked boldly against the “Israeli occupation”.

Mosaddek Ibne Mohammad Ali, one of the protesting students, said: “The things Israel has been doing with the people of Gaza is clearly war crime and genocide. The Netanyahu administration violated all the humanitarian laws. This illegal war has to be stopped for the sake of humanity. Again, US’s Biden Administration is the main patronizer of this war as the USA has long been giving back up to Israel to carry the expenses of the war.”

Condemning Biden administration activities, he said: “The US claims itself as the saviour of the democracy but we see that they are the main exploiters of the democracy. They violated the laws of democracy in Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan and now they are violating democracy in their own country as we see the Biden Administration attacking and imprisoning the students of the universities of the US for protesting the US administration’s naked support of Israeli crimes. We are always with our protesting brothers all around the war.”

Addressing Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Mosaddek requested to cut all kinds of ties with the allies of Israel and also to reinstate the words: "This passport is valid for all the countries of the world except Israel’ in the Bangladeshi passport which was installed by Bangabandhu."

After the rally, the students marched to Shahbagh chanting slogans demanding to free Palestine and the withdrawal of Israeli “occupation” forces from Gaza and burned the effigy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Source: UNB