Bangladesh imposes indefinite curfew, shuts down internet amid fresh protests in Dhaka
Dhaka: Bangladeshi troops were deployed on the streets on Sunday to impose an indefinite nationwide curfew as protesters clashed with authorities amid a new wave of protests demanding the resignation of the prime minister, which comes weeks after a deadly crackdown.
Thousands of Bangladeshi protesters took to the streets of Dhaka on Saturday and Sunday after student leaders launched a nationwide civil disobedience campaign to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The fresh protests came after protests that began in July turned violent, calling for the scrapping of the quota system for government jobs.
Those nationwide campus rallies were attacked by pro-government groups, leading to clashes with security forces, a week-long communications blackout, curfews and more than 200 deaths.
After protesters returned to the streets in their largest number yet, Bangladesh's interior ministry said an indefinite nationwide curfew would begin at 6 p.m. Sunday, while internet services were again shut down.
More than 50 people were killed and dozens injured in the fresh round of clashes, according to Pratham Alo, the country's leading Bengali-language newspaper, as police fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse thousands of protesters.
Students Against Discrimination, one of the main groups behind the initial protests, on Monday called on “students across the country to travel to Dhaka”.
“The time has come for the final signing of this student citizen movement. Come to Dhaka and be a part of history,” the group's coordinator Asif Mahmud said in a statement issued after the curfew was announced.
“Students will make a new Bangladesh.”
The government's response to last month's protests and the arrest of thousands of people has turned the student-led movement into a mass movement, even as the Supreme Court finally struck down most quotas for opening up civil service posts to merit-based candidates. Groups have been joining in the past few days, including teachers and TV stars.
“The current situation has been described as a mass uprising. It enjoys the support of the entire nation, except for a few beneficiaries of the regime,” Salimullah Khan, a political analyst and professor at the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh, told Arab News.
“Repressive measures are only responsible for these mass murders and crimes against humanity. The true conclusion is the immediate exit of the regime. Dithering will only cost more lives.”
The protests have been a major challenge for Hasina, who returned to power in January for a fourth consecutive term in an election boycotted by her main opponents, including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
“The BNP strongly supports the demands and commitments of the students and stands with them,” BNP International Secretary Mohammad Nawshad Zamir told Arab News.
“Therefore, we must continue our street demonstrations until the illegitimate regime of Sheikh Hasina is removed and a national government of consensus is established.”
Hasina's party, the ruling Awami League, has said the student-led movement has been “politicised”.
Awami League lawmaker Khalid Mahmud Chaudhary told Arab News: “This is a conspiracy to destroy the country. Looking at the current situation, that has been proven.
“Our law enforcers are still showing maximum tolerance to the protesters. But they have to understand, that doesn't mean we are weak.
Yet Bangladesh's efforts to suppress civil unrest, which included “indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force by law enforcement agencies,” were “unprecedented,” said Dr. Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh.
“It is very unfortunate. Unfortunately, we see that there is no way out of this situation or there is no light at the end of the tunnel because the use of force continues to manage the crisis,” he told Arab News.
“The authorities ignored the power of the student movement, and on the other hand, the authorities thought they were invincible… They failed to understand that the students' movement here in the history of Bangladesh is invincible.”
