Student Uprising in Bangladesh Part of History of Political Protest
2024-08-14
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1Protests in Bangladesh that involved many students have led to the long-time prime minister fleeing the country.
2The developments in the South Asian country are among the most recent incidents in which students and other young people played an important part.
3They have brought down governments or forced them to change policies.
4Recently, the Associated Press (AP) listed some historic protests:
5In Bangladesh, weeks of protests against a system that set aside government jobs for the families of veterans with ruling party ties forced the prime minister from office.
6The demonstrations against the quotas for government jobs began peacefully last month.
7Students are said to have led the protests against the system for government jobs.
8They said it unfairly favored those with ties to the ruling party.
9On July 15, student protesters fought with security officials and pro-government activists.
10Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled last week after the unrest.
11It is estimated that nearly 300 people died in the violence including students and police officers.
12As in Bangladesh, young people took part in widespread protests in Sri Lanka in 2022.
13The protesters blamed President Gotabaya Rajapaksa for the economic collapse of the country and corruption.
14In April 2022, university students and other young people occupied an area next to the president's office in the capital Colombo.
15They demanded that the president and his government resign.
16They called the camp "Gota Go Gama," or "Gota Go Village," a play on Gotabaya's nickname "Gota."
17The protest area grew.
18Gotabaya Rajapaksa held onto power until July, when protesters stormed his official residence.
19He fled the country and later resigned.
20In November 1973, students at Athens Polytechnic university rose up against the military dictatorship that ruled Greece for more than six years.
21Student protests began peacefully with a strike on November 14 of that year.
22The students stopped attending classes and occupied the campus at the university in Athens.
23By the next day, thousands from around Athens had joined to support the students and the demonstrations grew.
24People called for an end to the dictatorship.
25On November 17, the military attacked the protestors, killing many students and injuring more than 1,100.
26After a series of events, Greece, the birthplace of democracy, returned to that form of government in 1974.
27President Richard Nixon approved attacks on neutral Cambodia in April 1970.
28That policy was an attempt to close enemy supply lines, but it expanded the conflict.
29American students had already been protesting the U.S. involvement in Vietnam for years.
30On May 4, hundreds of students at Ohio's Kent State University gathered to protest the bombing of Cambodia.
31Officials called in the Ohio National Guard to break up the protest.
32The National Guard used tear gas as they moved forward. For reasons that are still not clear, some National Guard members opened fire on the crowd.
33Four students were killed, and nine others wounded.
34The deaths were a defining moment for a nation divided over the long war, in which more than 58,000 Americans died.
35One result was a strike by an estimated 4 million students across the U.S.
36About 900 colleges and universities closed temporarily.
37Historians argue that the events helped turn public opinion against the conflict in Southeast Asia.
38In the struggle against white minority rule in South Africa, an important moment came in 1976 in the Soweto area of Johannesburg.
39On June 16, Black students began to protest against being forced to study in Afrikaans, the language of the country's white rulers.
40The country was ruled under a system of racial separation called apartheid.
41People in other areas of South Africa joined protests to express opposition to apartheid.
42The government's effort to control the uprising led to deaths estimated to be in the hundreds.
43Worldwide attention and support for the protesters brought the end of apartheid years later.
44South Africa held democratic elections in 1994.
45In 1989, the Communist governments of Eastern Europe were beginning to fail.
46After riot police suppressed a student protest in Prague on November 17, widespread demonstrations against the Communist rulers started in what was then known as Czechoslovakia.
47On November 20, many others joined the students and an estimated 500,000 took to the streets of Prague.
48Because the protests were non-violent, they were called the "Velvet Revolution."
49They led to the resignation of the Communist Party's leadership on November 28.
50By December 10, Czechoslovakia had a new government.
51On December 29, parliament elected the writer Vaclav Havel, who had spent several years in prison.
52In 1992, Czechoslovakia peacefully split into two countries, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
53I'm Mario Ritter, Jr.
54And I'm Jill Robbins.
1Protests in Bangladesh that involved many students have led to the long-time prime minister fleeing the country. 2The developments in the South Asian country are among the most recent incidents in which students and other young people played an important part. They have brought down governments or forced them to change policies. Recently, the Associated Press (AP) listed some historic protests: 3Bangladesh 4In Bangladesh, weeks of protests against a system that set aside government jobs for the families of veterans with ruling party ties forced the prime minister from office. 5The demonstrations against the quotas for government jobs began peacefully last month. Students are said to have led the protests against the system for government jobs. They said it unfairly favored those with ties to the ruling party. 6On July 15, student protesters fought with security officials and pro-government activists. Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled last week after the unrest. It is estimated that nearly 300 people died in the violence including students and police officers. 7Gota Go Gama protests in Sri Lanka 8As in Bangladesh, young people took part in widespread protests in Sri Lanka in 2022. The protesters blamed President Gotabaya Rajapaksa for the economic collapse of the country and corruption. 9In April 2022, university students and other young people occupied an area next to the president's office in the capital Colombo. They demanded that the president and his government resign. They called the camp "Gota Go Gama," or "Gota Go Village," a play on Gotabaya's nickname "Gota." 10The protest area grew. Gotabaya Rajapaksa held onto power until July, when protesters stormed his official residence. He fled the country and later resigned. 11Athens Polytechnic uprising in Greece 12In November 1973, students at Athens Polytechnic university rose up against the military dictatorship that ruled Greece for more than six years. 13Student protests began peacefully with a strike on November 14 of that year. The students stopped attending classes and occupied the campus at the university in Athens. By the next day, thousands from around Athens had joined to support the students and the demonstrations grew. People called for an end to the dictatorship. 14On November 17, the military attacked the protestors, killing many students and injuring more than 1,100. After a series of events, Greece, the birthplace of democracy, returned to that form of government in 1974. 15Kent State demonstrations in the United States 16President Richard Nixon approved attacks on neutral Cambodia in April 1970. That policy was an attempt to close enemy supply lines, but it expanded the conflict. American students had already been protesting the U.S. involvement in Vietnam for years. 17On May 4, hundreds of students at Ohio's Kent State University gathered to protest the bombing of Cambodia. Officials called in the Ohio National Guard to break up the protest. 18The National Guard used tear gas as they moved forward. For reasons that are still not clear, some National Guard members opened fire on the crowd. Four students were killed, and nine others wounded. 19The deaths were a defining moment for a nation divided over the long war, in which more than 58,000 Americans died. 20One result was a strike by an estimated 4 million students across the U.S. About 900 colleges and universities closed temporarily. Historians argue that the events helped turn public opinion against the conflict in Southeast Asia. 21Soweto Uprising in South Africa 22In the struggle against white minority rule in South Africa, an important moment came in 1976 in the Soweto area of Johannesburg. 23On June 16, Black students began to protest against being forced to study in Afrikaans, the language of the country's white rulers. The country was ruled under a system of racial separation called apartheid. 24People in other areas of South Africa joined protests to express opposition to apartheid. The government's effort to control the uprising led to deaths estimated to be in the hundreds. 25Worldwide attention and support for the protesters brought the end of apartheid years later. South Africa held democratic elections in 1994. 26Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia 27In 1989, the Communist governments of Eastern Europe were beginning to fail. After riot police suppressed a student protest in Prague on November 17, widespread demonstrations against the Communist rulers started in what was then known as Czechoslovakia. 28On November 20, many others joined the students and an estimated 500,000 took to the streets of Prague. 29Because the protests were non-violent, they were called the "Velvet Revolution." They led to the resignation of the Communist Party's leadership on November 28. 30By December 10, Czechoslovakia had a new government. On December 29, parliament elected the writer Vaclav Havel, who had spent several years in prison. In 1992, Czechoslovakia peacefully split into two countries, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. 31I'm Mario Ritter, Jr. 32And I'm Jill Robbins. 33David Rising reported this story for the Associated Press. Jill Robbins adapted it for Learning English. 34______________________________________ 35Words in This Story 36quota -n. an official limit or number of people who are permitted in a program or similar system 37nickname -n. a name that is not someone's official name, but which people use for them 38campus -n. the grounds of a school, business or organization 39What do you think of this story? Write to us in the Comments Section.