Bangladesh: Police clash with protesters demanding PM Sheikh Hasina's resignation, several injured

Tens of thousands of supporters of Bangladesh’s main opposition party took to the streets in the country’s capital city of Dhaka, on Saturday (July 29) to demand Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation. During the demonstration, Bangladesh police fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the stone-throwing crowd that had blocked major roads across the city.

What are the protesters demanding?

The opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its allies have staged multiple protests since last year and called for PM Hasina to step down. They have also demanded that the country hold general elections under a caretaker government.

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This comes after the main opposition has been in disarray since its leader Khaleda Zia was jailed in 2018 on graft charges and has also garnered the support of thousands amid mounting anger over the cost of living in Bangladesh.

BNP’s demand to hold the next election, due in January 2024, by a neutral caretaker government has since been rejected by the incumbent government.

“BNP’s one-point demand is the restoration of democracy in Bangladesh....This can only be achieved through a free and fair election, which is not possible under the current regime,” senior BNP leader Abdul Moyeen Khan told Reuters.

He added, “This government must resign and make way for a free and fair election under an interim government, only through that we can restore a people's government in Bangladesh.”

About those injured and arrested

Clashes between the BNP and its supporters erupted after the police moved to clear thousands of people who had blocked traffic on key roads and highways around the city. Dhaka Metropolitan Police spokesman Faruk Hossain told AFP, “Some officers were injured.”

He added, “We fired tear gas and rubber bullets.” The report citing the police official also said that at least four demonstration sites around the city saw clashes between police and protesters, where 20 officers were injured and 90 protesters were arrested.

Demonstrators at one of the protest sites in Dholaikhal retaliated by throwing rocks at riot police and their vehicles, reported AFP. A police inspector at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital told the news agency that six protesters had been admitted to the hospital with injuries.

Hossain told AFP that senior BNP leaders Goyeshwar Roy and Amanullah Aman had been taken into police custody, on Saturday, but have not formally been arrested.

“The government tried hard to prevent the rally, but it did not succeed. Our leaders and activists defied all obstacles and came to make the rally a success,” said BNP leader Mirza Abbas. He also said that the police arrested at least 100of its supporters, reported Reuters.

However, the police said that they only arrested those who could not provide valid ID.

Hasina’s regime

The incumbent PM’s Awami League has ruled Bangladesh since 2009 and has been accused of human rights abuses, corruption and creeping authoritarianism. Additionally, opposition and rights groups have criticised Hasina’s government for cracking down on anti-government protests.

(With inputs from agencies)

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