The following article was written by a guest author, @AuntTed and has been forwarded to The Fulda Gap for posting.
Violent clashes between student activists and authorities in the Bangladesh capital of Dhaka have continued for three days following over a week of student protests for stricter road safety conditions in the country. On 29 July, two school bus drivers racing one another to pick up passengers plowed into a crowd of people waiting for the buses, killing two students and injuring nine others. In a country with thousands killed by motorists annually (estimates range from 7,400-20k), this was a flash point.
Students responded by taking to the streets. Dismissive comments made by Shajahan Khan, president of the Road Transport Federation, fueled public outrage. The student demands seemed simple enough: they called on authorities to implement safer road conditions, as outlined in a nine point charter. In the meantime, they took it upon themselves to implement and enforce traffic laws in the chaotic streets of Dhaka. Students have been checking drivers’ licenses and vehicle registration, created a designated lane for emergency vehicles, and have begun fixing broken roads while organizing peaceful protests.
9-point charter:
1. Reckless drivers should receive capital punishment and provision for such should be incorporated into the constitution;
2. Shipping minister Shajahan Khan must withdraw his statement and apologize to students;
3. Construction of a footbridge or alternative arrangement to ensure safety for students’ movement at the spot of Sunday’s incident. Construction must start with 7 days;
4. Setting up speed breakers in every accident prone road;
5. The government must take responsibility for the students killed or injured in road accidents;
6. All intra-city buses must stop and pick up students;
7. Students should be allowed to pay discounted fares in every part of the country, including Dhaka;
8. Vehicles must not be allowed on the streets without fitness certificates, and drivers must not drive without licenses and updated paperwork;
9. No bus can take excess passengers.
For his part, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said on August 2nd that the demands of the protesters were being met. As of this writing, we have been unable to confirm whether or not that was actually taking place; what we can confirm is that the protests are continuing.
(AFP PHOTO / MUNIR UZ ZAMAN)
On August 3rd, the Bangladesh Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, called upon members of the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) to support the student protesters, saying “Be with them, and be alert so that no outsiders can infiltrate and take advantage of their movement.” The BCL is ostensibly the student wing of the ruling Bangladesh Awami League (BAL). In practice, they are commonly referred to as “the armed wing of the BAL”, “government thugs” and, more recently, a “terrorist organization”. The day after PM Hasina’s call to support, members of the BCL incited violence and vandalism at planned protests. Adults dressed in school uniforms attempted to blend in with the crowds to beat up students and journalists and to destroy cameras. Local police responded by firing tear gas and blanks to break up potential riots. The situation devolved into a chase/counter-chase between protesters and authorities by 5:30 PM local time and ended when police charged with batons a half hour later. Videos uploaded to Facebook and, later YouTube, show BCL members joining the charge with metal rods in hand.
Protests resumed the next morning. The government swiftly worked to disable 3G and 4G networks to prevent videos from being uploaded to social media and reduced broadband speeds to 1.28 kbps, according to anonymous BTRC sources. Facebook was blocked in Dhaka, and hashtags associated with the protests were blocked from Twitter (#WeDemandChange, #BengladeshStudentProtests).
By afternoon on August 5th, the violence had escalated to rape, abduction and murder. Police open fired on protesters. Dozens of girls reported sexual assault by BCL mobs (girls, not women, as student protesters are ages 10-19). The Dhaka Tribune reports that 20-25 journalists have been attacked. One, photojournalist Shahidul Alam, was taken from his home by plainclothes police officers. He has not been seen since. Students, likewise, have been reported missing, sometimes turning up dead hours after their disappearances.
(AFP PHOTO / MUNIR UZ ZAMAN)
In a Facebook message, one student described overhearing his brother talking to BCL members. “My brother said, ‘if you see any male students, stab them. If you see any female students, rape them.’ Warn the people living in Mirpur.”
Bus service resumed for the first time in a week on Monday morning as police fired tear gas canisters into the campus of East West University. 3G service was restored as well. The government strongly denies wrongdoing by either the police or BCL. This isn’t over, though. Alarming videos from today continue to pour out over Facebook, Discord and Reddit. What began as a protest by students about transportation has become a national question of whether the government serves the people or the party.
The next general election is looming in the fall. Four years ago, the main opposition party, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), boycotted the elections, giving BAL 80% of seats in parliament. BNP’s decision to participate this year and BAL’s treatment of opposition candidates will determine where the country goes from here and if this weekend was an impetus for change or the new normal for Bangladesh. This is a situation it would be advisable to keep a close eye on in the near future.
For additional videos (Some content NSFW), please visit this YouTube channel.
