Deadly clash escalates in Bangladesh: nearly hundred people lost their lives

Sanjoy Kumar Barua

At least 100 people lost their lives including 14 members of police, and dozens more injured in a new round of violence in Bangladesh amid worsening clashes between police, ruling party members and anti-government protesters.

The deaths were reported by the police, doctors and local journalists on Sunday in the capital Dhaka and the northern districts of Bogura, Pabna and Rangpur, as well as in Magura in the west, Comilla in the east, and Barisal and Feni in the south.

The attack on the police took place at the Enayetpur police station in the northwest city of Sirajganj, according to Additional Deputy Inspector General Vijay Basak of the Bangladesh police.

The military announced that a new curfew, including in the capital, Dhaka, and other divisional and district headquarters, was in effect from Sunday evening for an indefinite period.

The government had earlier imposed a curfew with some exceptions in Dhaka and elsewhere.

Protesters have demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina while at least 12,000 people have been arrested in recent weeks.

Hasina said those who were engaging in the “sabotage” and the destruction in the name of protests were no longer students, but criminals, and said the people should deal with them with iron hands.

Meanwhile, thousands of members of the ruling Awami League party and its associate bodies took to the streets for counter-protests, raising the risk of violent confrontations.

Authorities have blocked internet access and imposed a shoot-on-sight curfew.

Protesters attacked Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, a major public hospital in Dhaka’s Shahbagh area, torching several vehicles.

In Dhaka’s Uttara area, police fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters who blocked a major road.

The government also announced a holiday from Monday to Wednesday, and courts will remain closed for an indefinite period.

Protesters called for “noncooperation”, urging people not to pay taxes and utility bills and not show up for work on Sunday, a working day in Bangladesh. Offices, banks and factories opened, but commuters in Dhaka and other cities faced challenges getting to work.

A ‘March to Dhaka’ protest has also been moved from Tuesday to Monday, said the coordinators for the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement (ASD).

The deadly protests began last month as students demanded an end to a quota system that reserved 30 percent of government jobs for the families of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s war of independence against Pakistan in 1971.

As violence intensified, the country’s Supreme Court scaled back the quota system to 5 percent of jobs, with 3 percent for relatives of veterans.

But protests have continued demanding accountability for violence the demonstrators blame on the government’s use of excessive force.

The quota system also includes quotas for members of ethnic minorities, and disabled and transgender people, which were cut from 26% to 2% in the ruling.

Hasina’s administration has blamed the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and now-banned right-wing Jamaat-e-Islami party and their student wings for instigating violence, in which several state-owned establishments were also torched or vandalised.

Earlier, Ms Hasina offered unconditional dialogue with the student leaders, saying she wanted the violence to end.

“I want to sit with the agitating students of the movement and listen to them. I want no conflict,” she said.

But the student protesters have rejected her offer and announced a one-point demand for her resignation.

Hasina called in the military last month to restore order after several police stations and state buildings were set on fire during the protests.

The Bangladeshi army chief, General Waker-Uz-Zaman, held a meeting with junior officers in Dhaka to assess the security situation.

“Bangladesh Army has always stood by the people and will continue to do so for the interest of people and in any need of the state,” Gen Zaman said, according to a release by the Inter Services Public Relation Directorate.

The PM repeated her pledges to thoroughly investigate the deaths and punish those responsible for the violence. She said her doors are open for talks and she is ready to sit down whenever the protesters want.

The protests have become a major challenge for Ms Hasina, who has ruled the country for over 15 years, returning to power for a fourth consecutive term in January in an election that was boycotted by her main opponents.

Most of those killed in last month’s protests were shot dead by police said local medias and thousands were injured while the government claims in disguise of police the perpetrators opened fire and killed the civilians including students and children while some members of police opened fire only in self-defence and to protect state properties.

The demonstrators are demanding Hasina’s resignation after earlier protests in July that began with students calling for an end to a quota system for government jobs and escalated into violence that killed at least 200 people and thousands injured.