Clashes erupt in Bangladesh amid protests against signing of ‘July National Charter’

Violent clashes broke out in Bangladesh after several hundred people, who claimed to be those whose protests toppled the Sheikh Hasina government last year, started demonstrating on Friday against the signing of the July Charter. The protesters were venting their anger saying that their concerns had not been addressed in the new charter, despite their loved ones dying during the mass uprising. The interim government, headed by Yunus, had invited the country’s main political parties to sign a new political charter to pave the way for political reforms. The area around Bangladesh’s Parliament turned into a scene of violent confrontation on Friday as the “July Fighters” clashed with police and security forces while attempting to stage a protest against the signing of the July National Charter.

The protesters, including those who were injured in the July uprising of 2024 and families of the slain, gathered near the Parliament premises on Manik Mia Avenue, Dhaka for a sit-in.

They said that the “July National Charter”, named after the national uprising that started last July, doesn’t address their concerns.

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After clashes broke out, police fired tear gas and used grenades and batons to disperse the protesters expressing dissatisfaction with the interim government’s new political charter.

The powerful political parties signed the charter on Friday aimed at ensuring democratic reform after next year’s elections, but celebrations by the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus were dampened by the clashes and the refusal of one party to sign the charter.

Some protesters vandalised a police vehicle and makeshift tents, while others clashed with soldiers and security officials in the capital Dhaka. Witnesses said several people were injured. Police fired teargas, and used stun grenades and batons to disperse protesters outside Bangladesh’s national Parliament complex on Friday, as tensions soared over the interim government's new political charter.

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A National Consensus Commission set up by the interim government prepared the charter after a series of talks with the major political parties.

Protests against Hasina’s rule began on July 1, 2024, with university students calling for changes to a quota system for public sector jobs. The protests culminated on August 5, 2024, when thousands of protesters stormed Hasina’s palace as she escaped by helicopter.

Yunus has promised to hold the next national election in February, before the Muslim-majority nation of 170 million people celebrates the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.