Press Release

Hizb ut-Tahrir Bangladesh strongly condemns the arrest of four of its student section activists for distributing leaflets protesting Dr Yunus’s attendance of Dhaka University’s 43rd Convocation

Chief Coordinator and Spokesman of Hizb ut-Tahrir Bangladesh, Mohiuddin Ahmed issued a statement today (Monday, 26-02-07) strongly condemning the unjustified arrests of four Dhaka University students of Hizb ut-Tahrir Bangladesh in the morning from the campus site and demanded their immediate release. They were picked up while distributing leaflets that exposed the truth about Yunus, and called on all teachers and students to boycott him from the convocation ceremony.

Mohiuddin Ahmed said that the government, on the one hand, is permitting Yunus to freely undertake political activities during the state of emergency, including issuing open letters to the people. On the other hand they are arresting the students for protesting Yunus’s evil plans to use the University convocation ceremony to propagate his political agenda.

Mohiuddin Ahmed said that Yunus introduced usury based micro-credit financing facility to the poor and destitute, who are suffering the shackles of debt repayments with interest rates higher than any bank in the world (at over 40%). He is now craftily using his undeserved fame to enter politics by floating a new party. Using the opportunity created from the failure of the elections (2007), and announcement of state of emergency, usurious Yunus set out to accomplish his devilish ambition.

Furthermore, he is treacherously colluding with the West to work against the interests of Bangladesh. He has been obsessively propagating the handing over of the country’s strategic Chittagong port, as well as a planned deep sea port, to foreign control. He even went to the extent of wholeheartedly supporting transit rights to India, thereby strengthening India and harming the security of Bangladesh.

Therefore, Dhaka University’s teachers and students must not allow the usurious agent of foreign imperialists, Dr Yunus, to use their prestigious institution to wickedly propagate his new party. The student section of Hizb ut-Tahrir Bangladesh will hold “Black Flag” demonstration tomorrow morning (Wed, 28-02-07) to resist his presence at the convocation.

Mohiuddin Ahmed
Chief Coordinator and Spokesman of Hizb ut-Tahrir Bangladesh

28 Feb, 2007

Hizb ut-Tahrir Bangladesh strongly condemns further arrests of its student section activists for protesting Dr Yunus’ presence in Dhaka University

Student section of Hizb ut-Tahrir Bangladesh held a press conference today (Wed, 28-02-07) which was chaired by Hasan Muhammad Zakariya. In his statement he strongly condemned today’s unjustified police action on activists belonging to the party, which included baton charge and arrests of three students, and he demanded their immediate release. The police action and arrests took place during their ‘Black Flag’ demonstration protesting against Yunus’s presence in Dhaka University.

Despite the past few days’ protest from all quarters of Dhaka University, the authorities decided to keep Yunus as a guest at the 43rd convocation ceremony. Therefore, the students of Hizb ut-Tahrir Bangladesh went ahead with their pre-announced ‘Black Flag’ demonstration outside Curzon Hall.

They were also joined by fifteen graduates who had decided to boycott the ceremony, refusing to take their certificates during his presence.

As soon as the protest began the police launched a brutal full scale attack. Scores of students were injured at their hands and many students’ convocation gowns were torn. The unsatisfied police continued their vicious assault by indiscriminately baton charging from behind as the students regrouped and carried on with their demonstration. The police became more brutal and launched a further attack on the students who were determined to continue protesting with their black flags. They started to arrest the demonstrators in an attempt to disperse them. The remaining students were then forcibly removed from the spot.

In his statement Hasan Muhammad Zakariya said that despite the arrests carried out previously on 26 February, which was a feeble attempt to put fear into the students, they bravely committed themselves in their goal to expose the usurious agent of foreign imperialists, Yunus. Furthermore, there should be no doubt that today’s arrest will also not break their resolve. The dedicated youth of Hizb ut-Tahrir Bangladesh will continue to resist all attempts by Yunus (aka Hamid Karzai of Bangladesh) to establish himself as a player in the country’s political process.

Issued By

Hasan Muhammad Zakariya
Hizb ut-Tahrir Bangladesh Students Section