Bangladesh declares indefinite curfew, internet cuts amid protests in Dhaka
Dhaka: Bangladesh's army was deployed to the streets to enforce an indefinite nationwide curfew on Sunday as protesters clashed with police amid fresh protests demanding the prime minister's resignation, weeks after a deadly crackdown.
Thousands of Bangladeshi protesters took to the streets in Dhaka on Saturday and Sunday as student leaders launched a nationwide anti-repression campaign calling for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign.
The new protests follow a previous rally in July that began with students demanding an end to quotas for government jobs and escalated into violence.
University rallies across the country were attacked by pro-government groups, resulting in clashes with security forces, a week of communications disruptions, curfews, and more than 200 deaths.
After protesters returned to the streets in what appeared to be the largest numbers in history, Bangladesh's home ministry said an indefinite nationwide curfew would begin at 6:00 p.m. Sunday and internet services would be shut down again.
More than 50 people have been killed and scores injured in the new clashes, the country's leading Bengali-language newspaper Prothom Alo reported, with police firing tear gas and flash-bang grenades to disperse tens of thousands of protesters.
The Anti-Discrimination Students Group, one of the main groups behind the first protests, called for “students from all over the country to come to Dhaka” on Monday.
“It is time to put the final stamp on this student uprising. Come to Dhaka to be a part of history,” the group’s coordinator, Asif Mahmoud, said in a statement issued after the curfew was announced.
“Students will build a new Bangladesh.”
Although the Supreme Court eventually scrapped the quota that had opened most civil service positions to qualified candidates, the government’s response to protests last month and the arrests of thousands of people has turned the student-led protests into a public movement, with more groups joining in recent days, including teachers and TV stars.
“The current situation can best be described as a massive popular uprising, supported by the entire country, except for a few beneficiaries of the regime,” Salimullah Khan, a political analyst and professor at the Bangladesh Liberal Arts University, told Arab News.
“Repression is the main cause of massacres and crimes against humanity. The real conclusion is immediate departure from the regime. Hesitation will only cost more lives.”
The protests pose a major challenge for Hasina, who returned to power for a fourth consecutive term in January in elections boycotted by her main rivals, including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
“The BNP firmly supports the demands and commitments of the students and stands by them unwaveringly,” Mohammed Nowshad Samir, the BNP’s foreign secretary, told Arab News.
“So we must continue our street protests until Sheikh Hasina’s illegitimate regime is overthrown and a consensus national government is formed,”
Hasina's ruling Awami League party said the student-led movement had been “politicised”.
“It is a conspiracy to destroy the country and the current situation proves it,” Khalid Mahmoud Chowdhury, a member of parliament from the Awami League party, told Arab News.
“Our law enforcement officers continue to show utmost patience with protesters, but they must understand that does not mean we are weak,”
However, efforts to crack down on civilian movement in Bangladesh, including “indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force by law enforcement agencies,” are on a scale “unprecedented,” said Dr. Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh.
“It looks very scary. Unfortunately, we see no way out of this situation or light at the end of the tunnel because the use of force to manage the crisis continues,” he told Arab News.
“The authorities have ignored the power of the student movement. On the contrary, the authorities consider themselves invincible… They have failed to realize that the student movement has never been defeated in the history of Bangladesh.”
