Bangladesh protesters call for march to Dhaka in defiance of curfew
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DHAKA - Protesting students in Bangladesh have called for a march to the capital Dhaka on Aug 5 in defiance of a nationwide curfew to press Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign, a day after deadly clashes in the South Asian country killed nearly 100 people.
Armoured personnel carriers and troops patrolled the streets of the capital on Aug 5, Reuters TV showed. There was little civilian traffic, barring a few motorcycles and three-wheeled taxis.
At least 91 people were killed and hundreds injured
Since the evening of Aug 4, a nationwide curfew has been imposed, railways have suspended services, and the country’s huge garments industry has closed.
Bangladesh has been engulfed by protests and violence that began in July after student groups demanded the scrapping of a controversial quota system in government jobs. That escalated into a campaign to seek the ouster of Ms Hasina, who won a fourth straight term
The death toll on Aug 4, which included at least 13 policemen, was the highest for a single day from any protests in Bangladesh’s recent history, surpassing the 67 deaths reported on July 19 when students took to the streets to protest against the quotas.
At least 300 people have died since the violence began in July, reported AFP on Aug 5.
The government declared the indefinite nationwide curfew starting at 6pm local time (8pm Singapore time) on Aug 4, and also announced a three-day general holiday starting from Aug 5.
“The government has killed many students. The time has come for the final answer,” protest coordinator Asif Mahmud said in a statement on Facebook late on Aug 4. “Everyone will come to Dhaka, especially from the surrounding districts. Come to Dhaka and take a position on the streets.”
Another student leader, Mr M. Zubair, told Reuters TV: “Nobody can stop us from marching today. If we face them once, we will liberate Bangladesh. And I want to tell my armed forces’ brothers not to align with the autocrat. Either you be with the people or stay neutral.”
The Bangladesh army urged everyone to obey the curfew rules.
“The Bangladesh army will perform its promised duty in line with the Bangladesh Constitution and existing laws of the country,” it said in a statement late on Aug 4.
“In this regard, the people are requested to abide by the curfew as well as give full cooperation to this end,” it said, adding that the curfew was imposed to ensure the security of people’s lives, properties and important state establishments.
Violence across country
At the weekend, there were vandalism and arson attacks targeting government buildings, offices of the ruling Awami League party, police stations and houses of public representatives, local media reported. Violence was reported in 39 of the country’s 64 districts.
Bangladesh Railway said it had suspended all services indefinitely due to the escalating violence.
Garment factories in the country, which supply apparel to some of the top brands in the world, have also been closed indefinitely.
The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association said: “In view of the prevailing situation, owners have decided to close all garment factories across the country, considering the overall safety of the workers.”
The role of the country’s army in tackling the violence has come into focus, with a group of retired military officers urging Ms Hasina to withdraw troops from the streets and undertake “political initiatives” to resolve the crisis.
General Waker-Uz-Zaman, Chief of Army Staff, has said the army will always be there for the people’s interests and for any needs of the state. He was due to brief the media later on Aug 5 but the briefing has been cancelled, the military spokesperson’s office said, without giving any reasons.
Critics of Ms Hasina, along with human rights groups, have accused her government of using excessive force against protesters, a charge she and her ministers deny.
For the second time during the recent protests, the government has shut down high-speed internet services, mobile operators said. Social media platforms Facebook and WhatsApp were not available, even via broadband connections.
Websites of major Bangladeshi newspapers and their social media handles stopped updating, and the YouTube feed of news channels stopped transmitting around mid-morning on Aug 5. Reasons for the disruption were not immediately known.
There was a pause in protests after the Supreme Court scrapped most quotas, but students returned to the streets in sporadic protests last week, demanding justice for the families of those who had been killed and Ms Hasina’s resignation.
Ms Hasina has said that “those who are carrying out violence are not students but terrorists who are out to destabilise the nation”.
Mr Tarique Rahman, the exiled acting chairman of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, said the protests were now a “bloody struggle between autocracy and democracy”.
“While the regime continues to escalate its crackdown... the nation implores the international community... to stand for truth and justice and to act from respective positions,” he posted on social media platform X. REUTERS
