2023-10-28 11:20:29
– 100,000 people demand the resignation of the Prime Minister
A police officer was killed and more than a hundred injured on Saturday during a protest in Dhaka once morest Sheikh Hasina, police said.
Published today at 1:20 p.m.
Police officers stand guard in front of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) activists during a rally demanding the resignation of the current government, the establishment of a neutral, non-partisan government and the release of the BNP chairwoman in Dhaka , October 28, 2023.
MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP
More than 100,000 supporters of Bangladesh’s two main opposition parties gathered in Dhaka on Saturday, according to police, to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to make way for a neutral government to oversee the elections.
This day marks a new phase in the protests ahead of general elections scheduled before the end of January.
In power for 15 years
Sheikh Hasina, daughter of the country’s first president, has been in power for fifteen years and has seen her country experience rapid economic growth that has allowed it to overtake neighboring India in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, but its government is accused of corruption and human rights violations.
For months, the resurgent opposition has been holding protests to press its demands, although ailing BNP leader Khaleda Zia, a two-time prime minister and old enemy of Sheikh Hasina, is under house arrest following being convicted of corruption.
His supporters flocked to Dhaka on Saturday, crowding onto buses despite checkpoints on the road leading to the capital, and even boarding crowded trains.
“Vote thief, vote thief, Sheikh Hasina vote thief,” chanted the crowd during the BNP demonstration in front of the party headquarters.
“We demand the immediate resignation of the Hasina government, the release of our leader Khaleda Zia and the establishment of real voting rights,” explained Sekandar Badsha, a 24-year-old student activist from Chittagong (South).
2900 activists arrested
At least 10,000 police officers had been deployed, authorities said, but they clashed with hundreds of demonstrators in the Kakrail district, in front of the city’s largest Catholic church, and fired tear gas and bullets. made of rubber.
According to BNP spokesperson Zahir Uddin Swapan, more than a million people gathered.
He called the rallies a “final call” for Sheikh Hasina’s resignation and claimed that at least 2,900 of her activists and supporters had earlier been arrested this week.
Police arrested at least 200 BNP supporters near the party headquarters accused of throwing Molotov cocktails, according to Faruk Hossain, adding that at least 600 people were arrested last week.
Threats of strikes
If Sheikh Hasina does not resign, the party has threatened to call strikes and blockades.
Security forces are accused of detaining tens of thousands of opposition activists and killing or disappearing hundreds of leaders and supporters.
Several Western governments as well as human rights groups have expressed concern regarding the political climate in the country.
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