Army patrols streets as Bangladesh police fire on curfew violators
• Week-long violence has left at least 115 dead
• 150 cops hospitalised
• Hasina cancels foreign trips
DHAKA: Soldiers patrolled Bangladeshi cities on Saturday to quell growing civil unrest sparked by student demonstrations, with riot police firing on protesters who defied a curfew.
This week’s violence has killed at least 115 people so far, according to a count of victims reported by police and hospitals, and poses a monumental challenge to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s autocratic government after 15 years in office.
A curfew went into effect at Friday midnight and the premier’s office asked the military to deploy troops after police again failed to subdue widespread mayhem.
“The army has been deployed nationwide to control the law and order situation,” an armed forces spokesman said.
Streets of the capital Dhaka were almost deserted at daybreak, with troops on foot and in armoured personnel carriers patrolling the sprawling megacity of 20 million.
Thousands returned to the streets later in the day in the residential neighbourhood of Rampura, with police firing live rounds at the crowd and wounding one person.
“Our backs are to the wall,” protester Nazrul Islam, 52, said at the scene. “There’s anarchy going on in the country… They are shooting at people like birds.”
Hospitals have reported a growing number of gunshot deaths since Thursday.
“Hundreds of thousands of people” had battled police across the capital on Friday, a police spokesman said.
“At least 150 police officers were admitted to hospital. Another 150 were given first aid treatment,” he said, adding that two officers had been beaten to death.
“The protesters torched many police booths… Many government offices were torched and vandalised.”
A spokesman for Students Against Discrimination, the main group organising the protests, said two of its leaders had been arrested since Friday.
A second senior official from the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) was arrested in the early hours of Saturday.
Hasina had been due to leave the country on Sunday for a planned diplomatic tour, but abandoned her plans after a week of escalating violence.
“She has cancelled her Spain and Brazil tours due to the prevailing situation,” her press secretary said.
`Not about students anymore’
Since the first deaths on Tuesday, protesters have begun demanding Hasina leave office.
“It’s not about the rights of students anymore,” business owner Hasibul Sheikh, 24, said at the scene of the Rampura protest.
“We are here as the general public now,” he added. “Our demand is one point now, and that’s the resignation of the government.”
‘Shocking indictment’
Hospitals and police reported an additional 10 deaths on Saturday from clashes the previous day, with 105 other deaths reported since Tuesday.
Police fire was the cause of more than half of the deaths reported so far this week, based on descriptions given by hospital staff.
“The rising death toll is a shocking indictment of the absolute intolerance shown by Bangladeshi authorities to protest and dissent,” Babu Ram Pant of Amnesty International said in a statement.
Authorities imposed a nationwide internet shutdown on Thursday which remains in effect, severely hampering communication in and out of Bangladesh.
Government websites remain offline and major newspapers, including the Dhaka Tribune and Daily Star have been unable to update their social media platforms since Thursday.
UAE arrests Bangladeshis
The United Arab Emirates said on Saturday it had arrested several Bangladeshi expatriates for protesting against their government on UAE soil, where demonstrations are banned.
The authorities alleged that the Bangladeshis “committed crimes of gathering in a public place and protesting against their government with the intent to incite unrest”.
“The public prosecution has ordered their pre-trial detention pending further investigations,” the statement said, accusing the suspects of endangering the interests and security of the UAE and disrupting public order.
Travel advisory
The US State Department said on Saturday it had raised Bangladesh’s travel advisory to level three, which urges people to reconsider travel to the country due to “civil unrest”.
“Travellers should reconsider travel due to civil unrest in Dhaka. Ongoing demonstrations and violent clashes have been reported throughout the city of Dhaka, its neighboring areas, and throughout Bangladesh,” the US State Department said in a statement on Saturday.
“Due to the security situation, there may be a delay in provision of routine consular services,” it added.
The United States and Canada have called on Bangladesh government to uphold the right to peaceful protest and expressed concern over violence that has occurred in the country in recent days.
Published in Dawn, July 21st, 2024