On the Unlawful Arrest of Bangladeshi Socialist Leader Rashed Khan Menon

WAYU expresses strong protest and concern over Mr. Rashed Khan Menon, President of the Workers Party of Bangladesh, who was arrested in his residence on August 22 on a politically motivated false case and taken to the intelligence office.

Incriminators blamed a former student leader icon of Bangladesh, former Vice President of Dhaka University Central Students Union (DUCSU), one of the organizers of Bangladesh’s freedom struggle, the fighter against Ayub’s military junta and dictatorship, and the advocate of building a Bangladesh without traditional discrimination, the pioneer of establishing communism, social justice with the advice of politics. He is a lifelong uncompromising politician in the fight against exploitation, corruption, communalism, and imperialism for the sake of the people of Bangladesh.

Since the beginning of the anti-quota movement of the students, Mr. Rashed Khan Menon clarified his position in favor of the movement. He repeatedly urged the government to accept the demands of the common students. He condemned the attacks on protesters of the quota reform movement by deposed government-backed student-youth organizations along with excessive use of force by law-and-order forces. He protested and demanded justice for the student killings, which were witnessed by the national media.

But in the Western and US imperialist-designed blueprint with the fundamentalists who are against liberation war, and southern evil forces led by the extremist Jamaat-BNP have profited by using innocent students in the name of student anti-discrimination movement. As a result, the mass uprising of 5th August took place. The vicious alliance of fundamentalism and imperialist capitalism in Bangladesh is visible now. And the USA firmly stands behind it.

As the administration of the fallen previous government was improper, the government lost popularity, and the conspirators took advantage of that opportunity. The US had been developing a blueprint around Bangladesh for a long time as part of the implementation of the Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS). The interim government that was formed to implement the USA’s strategy is led by one of their best friends, Muhammad Yunus.

The USA and its allied Interim Government arrested and remanded Mr. Menon as a way to implement their evil intent, which is an inhumane and a cruel instance.

We demand the unconditional release of Mr. Menon, a Bangladeshi patriot, politician, and 82-year-old lifelong revolutionary. We expect law enforcement agencies to ensure his fundamental rights, including human rights.

General Secretariat