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05-08-2024
DHAKA: At least three people have been killed in Bangladesh as clashes erupted between police and anti-government protesters who are demanding that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina step down.
The latest round of tension comes as the student leaders have declared a campaign of civil disobedience against the government.
Police have used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse demonstrators in several parts of Bangladesh. Dozens have been injured.
The media has confirmed the deaths of two people in Munshiganj district and the killing of one opposition supporter in the district of Magura but Bangladeshi media say the number of people killed in the violence has reached eight.
Thousands of people are gathering in a main square in the capital Dhaka and there have been violent incidents in other parts of the city.
In some places, supporters of the governing Awami League are said to be clashing with anti-government protesters.
“The whole city has turned into a battleground,” a policeman, who asked not to be named, told media. He said a crowd of several thousand protesters had set fire to cars and motorcycles outside a hospital.
There are reports that the government has suspended mobile internet in Dhaka.
A BTRC official told media that 4G internet service in the Dhaka city area have stopped for now, but broadband services will continue. Without 4G and 3G people cannot communicate using the internet on their mobile devices. The source did not say when internet services would return to normal.
Students Against Discrimination, a group behind the anti-government demonstrations, has called on the prime minister to step down.
The group announced a nationwide disobedience movement starting from Sunday, urging citizens not to pay taxes or any utility bills. The students have also called for a shutdown of all factories and public transport.
The protest that started with a demand to abolish quotas in civil service jobs last month has now turned into a wider anti-government movement.
More than 200 people were killed in the violence in July, many of them shot by police.
Around 10,000 people have been reportedly detained in a major crackdown by security forces in the past two weeks. Those arrested included opposition supporters and students.
The Awami League, the party of Hasina, is also holding marches across the country on Sunday.
The next few days are seen as crucial for both camps.
“Sheikh Hasina should not only resign, there should be a trial for the killings, looting and corruption,” Nahid Islam, one of the student movement’s leaders, told thousands of people at a gathering on Saturday in Dhaka.
The protests pose a momentous challenge to Hasina, who was elected for a fourth consecutive term in January elections, boycotted by the main opposition.
Students took to the streets last month over the reservation of many civil service jobs for relatives of the veterans of Bangladesh’s independence war with Pakistan in 1971.
Most of the quota has now been scaled back by the government following a government ruling, but students have continued to protest, demanding justice for those killed and injured. Now they want Hasina to step down.
Supporters of Hasina have ruled out her resignation.
Earlier, Hasina offered unconditional dialogue with the student leaders, saying she wanted the violence to end. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
