DHAKA UNIVERSITY TENSE AFTER PROFESSORS CONVICTED

C O N F I D E N T I A L DHAKA 000105

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA/PB, DS/IP/NEA-SA, SCA/EX

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/22/2018
TAGS: ASEC CASC KDEM PGOV PINR PREL BG
SUBJECT: DHAKA UNIVERSITY TENSE AFTER PROFESSORS CONVICTED

REF: 07 DHAKA 1944

Classified By: A/DCM Jon Danilowicz, Reason 1.4(d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Hundreds of students protested at Dhaka
University on January 22 after three professors were
convicted of charges relating to violent unrest on the campus
last August. As of 1600 local time the demonstrations
involving several hundred people were peaceful but the
situation was expected to remain tense while protesters
awaited a government response to their demands that everyone
charged in the August unrest be cleared. This is proving to
be the first major test of the Caretaker Government since it
underwent a major reshuffling of top officials earlier this
month.END SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) Dhaka University has been tense for several days as
the trials of professors and students charged in the summer
rioting came to a head. After days of sporadic small-scale
protests, several hundred people, primarily students,
demonstrated at Dhaka University on January 22 after three
professors were convicted by a local court. As of 1600 local
time the protests were peaceful. Although the President was
widely expected to grant clemency to the convicted professors
and others facing related charges, the protesters were
demanding that all charges against the accused be erased. A
group of teachers called on students, colleagues and friends
to join a solidarity rally on January 23 at the university,
while approximately 2,000 police remained deployed on and
around campus. Adding to the uncertainty are plans by the
head of government -- Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed -- to
attend the World Economic Forum in Switzerland this week.
Given the volatility -- and remembering how quickly the
August protests turned violent and spread to other parts of
the city and to major universities throughout the country --
Embassy Dhaka has restricted all but Mission-critical travel
to Dhaka University and other government-operated
universities until final resolution of the court cases.


3. (C) Comment: The court verdicts follow fast on a major
reshuffle of the 11-member Council of Advisers that heads the
CTG. The wholesale personnel changes were designed to boost
the Government's popularity, which was flagging because of
spiraling inflation and continued restrictions on political
activity and other civil rights. The reconstituted Council
clearly wants to quickly resolve the court cases in a manner
that would diffuse tension and allow it to focus its full
energies on creating an environment for free, fair and
credible elections by the end of the year as promised.
Success will depend not only on reaching a solution
acceptable to the military-backed regime and the accused and
their supporters. It will also depend on whether politicians
will attempt to exploit the tension to undermine the
Caretaker Government that has thrown so many political party
leaders in jail on corruption charges. The next few days may
well go a long way in determining the new-look Government's
effectiveness.
Rollins