2024-09-07 21:05:36
Doctors Association of Bangladesh (DAB), a pro-BNP doctors’ organization, has drawn up a list of doctors who have refused to provide medical care to injured people who took part in the movement demanding quota reform and the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government. At the same time, the organization also demanded the removal of incompetent, corrupt and fascism friendly doctors from important positions in BSMMU, Health Department and other government health institutions.
These demands were made in a press conference organized on Saturday (September 7) afternoon at the National Press Club to protest the stagnation in health institutions and the rehabilitation of those opposing the student movement and the discrimination and harassment of doctors and officials.
The press conference was chaired by DAB President Professor Dr. Haroon Al Rashid. At this time, he said, doctors are conscious citizens of this country. From the language movement to the sacrifice of doctors in the liberation war of 1971, Dr. Shamsul Alam Khan turned the self-sacrifice movement of Milan into a mass uprising. Similarly, students of medical societies and medical colleges actively participated in this anti-discrimination student movement. Movement Dr. Several doctors including Sajib were martyred.
Harun Al Rashid said, during the movement, we saw the Director General of the Department of Health Dr. ABM Khurshid Alam, Additional Director General (Administration) Dr. Ahmedul Kabir, Line Director (NCDC) Dr. Robed Amin, Director (Administration) Dr. Dr. Harunur Rashid, Line Director. Nazmul Islam Munna, line director Dr. Sohel Mahmud, Deputy Director Dr. Mobarak Hossain Digant, director of Nipsom Dr. Samiul Islam Saadi, along with other directors, line directors, deputy directors, assistant directors, directors of various medical college hospitals, directors of institutes and other officials of the health department have created obstacles in treating the injured students in government hospitals. Even in various hospitals, the BLA’s petwa force and the police force have created obstacles in the treatment of the injured. It even concealed the number of bodies of the slain students and helped the government to bury the bodies as unclaimed. However, DAB doctors conduct treatment in government and private hospitals and provide medical treatment to the injured students. As a result, they are subjected to displacement, physical abuse and harassment.
He also said that after the formation of the new government on August 8, the medical community like all the citizens of Bangladesh had hoped, in the light of the anti-discrimination hope that fascism fell, we wanted a new health system without discrimination. But, at the very beginning of the health system reform, we saw beneficiaries of the previous government guilty of fascist and crimes against humanity being appointed as Director General of Health Department, Director of Nipsom, Director of IPH. We are shocked and outraged.
DAB Central Executive Committee Secretary General Dr. Md. Abdus Salam said that during the regime of dictatorial Sheikh Hasina government, all dissenting medical officers, including DAB doctors, were victims of oppression, torture, promotion denial, transfer harassment and indescribable discrimination in false cases. Many have been fired. Many have been forced to leave their jobs due to torture. Still, DAB played an active role in the movement to restore democracy. DAB has provided moral support to the anti-discrimination student movement since its inception and DAB doctors have interacted with the students at various stages and cooperated.
The DAB Secretary General also said, “We doctors hoped that after the coup, the health advisor of the interim government would discuss with various organizations of doctors to restructure the fragile health sector of the Awami government, remove corrupt doctors and take action against them by investigating corruption.” At the same time, we will build a reliable health system by filling the posts of health directorate, medical college principal, hospital director and various important posts through honest, qualified, hardworking and deprived doctors. But, we can’t see any reflection even after a month of mass uprising. Rather, they are being rehabilitated by appointing doctors who are participants in peace marches, corrupt, and pro-dictatorship who obstruct the treatment of students.
The demands presented by DAB in the press conference-
1. The director general of the Department of Health is unfit for the position of the corrupt friend of fascism. Robed Amin and other privileged and fascism friends who have been appointed to important positions in the health department and other health institutions, should be canceled.
2. The registration of BMDC should be drawn up and a list of those who refused to treat the injured students (from BSMMU to all government and private institutions) should be drawn up. All the doctors and officers/employees who attended the Punishment rally and are friends of fascism should be relieved from their posts and peaceful measures should be taken against them by appropriate legal process.
3. Discrimination should be eliminated by promoting all the doctors and employees who are discriminated against very quickly. Everyone currently eligible for promotion should be promoted expeditiously. Only then it will be possible to organize the health administration by appointing the deprived, skilled and qualified officials.
4. Every hospital including medical college has become an arena of corruption. To make these institutions free from corruption, qualified and discriminated teachers and doctors should be posted in appropriate positions. The corruption in the health sector in the past 16 long years should be made public and the people responsible should be brought to justice.
5. Medical colleges, medical universities, institutes, nursing colleges and other institutions should be removed very quickly and doctors who are victims of discrimination should be appointed.
6. Those protesting doctors who have been transferred in a harassing way, the transfer orders should be canceled immediately. In the future, I demand that the doctors who are victims of discrimination should not be transferred in any way.
7. I strongly demand that the expert panel committee formed by the Ministry of Health to improve the quality of health and medical services and strengthen the structure of the health system should be canceled very quickly and the committee should be reconstituted with the representation of the medical community expressing solidarity with the student movement.