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31-07-2023
BAGHDAD: Bangladesh police have fired rubber bullets and tear gas at stone-throwing opposition party supporters blocking major roads in the capital Dhaka to demand the prime minister’s resignation.
Supporters of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Saturday set fire to buses and exploded petrol bombs, according to police and local media, as they demanded that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina step down and that the next election, expected early next year, be held under a neutral caretaker government.
The party, in disarray since its leader Khaleda Zia was jailed in 2018 on corruption charges, has held bigger protest rallies in recent months, including one on Friday, drawing tens of thousands of supporters amid anger about the cost of living.
On Saturday, the BNP said dozens of its supporters were injured. Police said at least 20 officers were hurt in the clashes. At least 90 people were arrested, while two senior BNP leaders were taken into police custody and later freed, police said.
Senior BNP leader Abdul Moyeen Khan denounced the police action as an “injustice”.
“Today’s rampant action … only confirmed the autocratic nature of the ruling regime and fully exposes their motives to remain in power through a rigged election,” he told media, adding that police were seeking to curtail people’s “fundamental right of association”.
Faruq Ahmed, a spokesman for the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said, “Our force was attacked without any reason. They were only trying to ease the traffic flow.”
“We had to fire tear gas and rubber bullets to control the situation,” he said.
TV footage showed police using batons to beat protesters on the street.
Journalist Tanvir Chowdhury, reporting from Dhaka, said tension was palpable in the streets as residents braced for more violence. The governing Awami League party called for a counter-protest on Sunday, while the opposition called for more popular mobilization on Monday.
“Food prices are spiralling out of control for average people they are not able to buy as they used to so there is a major discontent among the public,” Chowdhury said.
Protesters also accuse the government of staging fraudulent elections in 2014 and 2018.
Western governments and rights groups have criticized the government for cracking down on anti-government protests. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
