Bangladesh closes university after World Cup riots

One of Bangladesh’s leading universities closed indefinitely on Sunday after five people were injured in riots by students demanding time off to watch the football World Cup, police said.

Students carrying sticks rampaged through the University of Engineering and Technology in the capital Dhaka on Saturday demanding term be cut short so they could see World Cup matches, said local police chief Rezaul Karim.

“The junior students want the campus to close so they can watch the World Cup. But some senior students, who have exams, didn’t want that — so there were some very tense clashes,” Karim said.

“The university held emergency meetings and decided to close immediately,” he said, adding this was a week ahead of the scheduled June 26 end of term.

During the 2006 World Cup, scores of students were injured in clashes at the same university.

“We have closed the university for an indefinite period to avoid any trouble, we hope to reopen after the World Cup,” Jibon Podder, the student affairs chief, told AFP.

Bangladesh has a culture of violent student politics, especially on public university campuses. All three of the country’s main political parties have strong student wings, which they fund and sometimes arm.

The usually cricket-mad nation is currently gripped by World Cup fever, despite the national team’s not having qualified for the tournament.

Irate fans last week damaged vehicles and attacked electricity distribution centres when a power cut hit television coverage of a match.

Some factories in Dhaka have also shut during games to reduce power blackouts.