[🇧🇩] Bangladeshi PM Hasina Flees country amid deadly riots

[Bilal9]

BSF issues ‘high alert’ along Bangladesh-India border

India’s Border Security Force has issued a “high alert” along the 4,096 km-long India-Bangladesh border considering the current law-and-order situation in Bangladesh

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BSF issues 'high alert' along Bangladesh-India border

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India's Border Security Force has issued a "high alert" along the 4,096 km-long India-Bangladesh border considering the current law-and-order situation in Bangladesh.

The alert came following the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her fleeing to India after weeks of protest that culminated in a mass upsurge on Monday.

There have been numerous reports of violence and killings of ruling party leaders as well as policemen.

Daljit Singh Chaudhary, director general of BSF, and other officials visited the India-Bangladesh border in Dhamakhali under the North 24 Parganas district in West Bengal yesterday, reports Indian Express.

"The purpose of this visit is to review the operational preparedness and strategic deployment of BSF in these important border areas," the BSF said in a statement.

"The ongoing efforts of BSF in Sundarbans and North 24 Parganas are vital in preventing international crimes and maintaining the sovereignty of the nation considering the current situation in Bangladesh," said a BSF official.

Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee yesterday appealed to political leaders to not make any provocative statements on the Bangladesh crisis.

She said the Centre will decide India's stand on the crisis in the neighbouring country.

Mamata further said, "I appeal to people of all communities with folded hands to remain calm and not engage in any communal behaviour or take the law into their own hands.

"If our brothers and sisters who are there (in Bangladesh) face some trouble, the Government of India and the Government of Bangladesh will look into it. We will do what the GoI asks. I urge leaders of all political parties and everyone else to not post anything that will disrupt peace here."

She claimed that some BJP leaders have already started making 'inappropriate' comments on the situation in Bangladesh.

The West Bengal Police also asked people to not share "provocative videos".

"Given the current situation in neighbouring Bangladesh, we have noticed a few posts and videos on social media that may create discord and unrest. Please do not pay attention to rumours, do not share provocative videos, do not step into a fake news trap. The state administration is alert and vigilant. Keep calm and maintain peace," the police posted on X.​

I saw one Facebook post by WB BJP leader Shubhendu like this, saying one crore Hindus will be driven out of Bangladesh, since Bangladesh has become Taleban now. These people are just amazing!

 

[Bilal9]

She is expected to leave for London later, sources told NDTV, where she may seek political asylum.

No asylum request cleared yet. The vaunted "Brit-Bandhan" so bally-hooed by the Brits, has petered out now.

MSN

 

[Saif]

I saw one Facebook post by WB BJP leader Shubhendu like this, saying one crore Hindus will be driven out of Bangladesh, since Bangladesh has become Taleban now. These people are just amazing!

That BJP clown is entertaining us with his nonsensical comments about our country. He has the gall to call us Taleban when he himself belongs to a Hindu fundamentalist political party which is engaged in killings of minorities in India.

 

[Saif]

No asylum request cleared yet. The vaunted "Brit-Bandhan" so bally-hooed by the Brits, has petered out now.

MSN

She will meet the fate of Rohingyas of Burma.

 

[Saif]

Sheikh Hasina deployed Indian army in Bangladesh to quell student movement. Here is the proof:

 

[Saif]

India concerned over status of minorities following Hasina’s resignation

India remains deeply concerned till law and order is visibly restored in Bangladesh and it is monitoring the status of minorities following the resignation and fleeing of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, India's Minister for External Affairs S Jaishankar said

www.thedailystar.net

India concerned over status of minorities following Hasina's resignation
Jaishankar says Hasina flew to India at a very short notice

India remains deeply concerned till law and order is visibly restored in Bangladesh and it is monitoring the status of minorities following the resignation and fleeing of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, India's Minister for External Affairs S Jaishankar said today.

"We are also monitoring the situation with regard to the status of minorities. There are reports of initiatives by various groups and organisations to ensure their protection and well-being. We welcome that, but will naturally remain deeply concerned till law and order is visibly restored," Jaishankar said at Rajya Sabha in a suo moto statement on the situation in Bangladesh

"Our border guarding forces have also been instructed to be exceptionally in view of this complex situation," he said, a day after Hasina flew to India where she has been kept at a safe shelter.

Jaishankar expected that the government in Bangladesh will provide the required security protection for the High Commission in Dhaka and the assistant high commissions in Chittagong, Rajshahi, Khulna and Sylhet.

"We look forward to their normal functioning once the situation stabilises," said Jaishankar said.

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs is in close and continuous touch with the Indian community in Bangladesh through its diplomatic missions. There are an estimated 19,000 Indian nationals, of which about 9,000 are students.

The bulk of the students have already returned to India in the month of July on the advice of the High Commission.

He said India-Bangladesh relations have been exceptionally close for many decades over many governments. Concern about recent violence and instability, there is shared across the political spectrum.

Since the election in January 2024, there has been considerable tensions, deep divides and growing polarisation in Bangladesh politics. This underlying foundation aggravated a student agitation that started in June this year, Jaishankar said.

There was growing violence, including attacks on public buildings and infrastructure, as well as traffic and rail obstructions. The violence continued through the month of July, he said.

"Throughout this period, we repeatedly counselled restraint and urged that the situation be defused through dialogue. Similar urgings were made to various political forces with whom we were in touch."

Despite a Supreme Court judgement on July 21, there was no let-up in the public agitation. Various decisions and actions taken thereafter only exacerbated the situation. The agitation at this stage coalesced around a one-point agenda, that is that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina should step down, the statement said.

On August 4, events took a very serious turn. Attacks on police, including police stations and government installations, intensified even as overall levels of violence greatly escalated. Properties of individuals associated with the regime were torched across the country.

"What was particularly worrying was that minorities, their businesses and temples also came under attack at multiple locations. The full extent of this is still not clear" he said.

On August 5, demonstrators converged in Dhaka despite the curfew.

"Our understanding is that after a meeting with leaders of the security establishment, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina apparently made the decision to resign. At a very short notice, she requested approval to come for the moment to India," he said.

"We simultaneously received a request for flight clearance from Bangladesh authorities. She arrived yesterday evening in Delhi," Jaishankar added.​

 

[Saif]

Hasina's ouster a seismic event in Bangladesh history: ICG

The resignation of Prime Minster Sheikh Hasina is an opportunity to avert further bloodshed, and the immediate priority now should be to prevent any further deaths, at the hands of either protesters or groups loyal to Hasina and the Awami League, said International Crisis Group (ICG)

www.thedailystar.net

Hasina's ouster a seismic event in Bangladesh history: ICG

The resignation of Prime Minster Sheikh Hasina is an opportunity to avert further bloodshed, and the immediate priority now should be to prevent any further deaths, at the hands of either protesters or groups loyal to Hasina and the Awami League, said International Crisis Group (ICG).

"The army has an important role to play in ensuring security and stability. The interim government that will now assume power should carry out a credible investigation into the tragic events of recent weeks, and ensure the thousands of protesters and opposition figures who have been detained are released," the Brussels-based global think tank said in a statement today.

"At the same time, it needs to embark on the long task of rebuilding democracy in Bangladesh, which has been so badly eroded in recent years," said ICG Senior Consultant Thomas Kean.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's resignation is a seismic event in Bangladesh history but has come at a tragic price. In recent weeks, over 300 people have been killed, the vast majority of them protesters shot dead by police, paramilitaries and members of the ruling Awami League.

The protests emerged at a time of widespread discontent with her government, which had become increasingly authoritarian during its 15 years in power, and badly mismanaged the economy.

Hasina sealed her fate when she decided to respond to the protests with brutality and arrogance rather than pursue serious dialogue with protest leaders. She pushed Bangladeshis over the edge.

Part of the reason the protest movement gained such widespread support was the fact the country has not held a competitive election in 15 years, Thomas Kean said.

"The current crisis presents an opportunity to put Bangladesh back on the path of genuine democracy and move beyond the hyper-partisan, winner-takes-all electoral dynamics that have caused so much damage over the past three decades.

"The interim government should work with student leaders who have emerged in recent months and gained the respect of the public on political reforms to this end."​

 

[Saif]

'Hasina likely to stay in India until UK grants asylum'

Former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina is likely to stay in India until the UK grants her asylum, reports Republic TV

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'Hasina likely to stay in India until UK grants asylum'

File photo: Reuters

Former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina is likely to stay in India until the UK grants her asylum, reports Republic TV.

It said that India is likely to provide Hasina all logistical support, reports our New Delhi correspondent quoting the TV channel.

Meanwhile, Indian Air Force and other Indian security agencies are providing security to Hasina who is being moved to a safe location, ANI said quoting unnamed sources.

Hasina is likely to meet her daughter Saima Wazed, who is based in New Delhi and working as the World Health Organisation's regional director for South-East Asia.

Security at the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi's diplomatic zone Chanakyapuri has been beefed up with the installation of additional barricades and deployment of more police forces.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi tonight presided over a high-level meeting of the cabinet committee on security affairs.

However, there was no official word on what transpired at the meeting which ended around 8:30pm IST.​

 

[Saif]

AL stares at a ‘political death’

Trumpeted as a champion of democracy over the last 15 years by her party colleagues and followers, Sheikh Hasina, 77, has become a pariah overnight.

www.thedailystar.net

AL stares at a 'political death'
Some leaders now say they're victims of Hasina's whim

Trumpeted as a champion of democracy over the last 15 years by her party colleagues and followers, Sheikh Hasina, 77, has become a pariah overnight.

The five-time prime minister, who is also Awami League president since 1981, is now trying to secure refuge in the UK after fleeing to India on Monday in the face of an unprecedented anti-government movement in Bangladesh's history.

Party insiders say Hasina's "undignified exit" was unbecoming of her, and a damning indictment of the bankruptcy of a party that led the Liberation War against Pakistan in 1971.

This self-seeking decision, they point out, to leave everyone to fend for themselves not only reflected badly on her, but also set back Awami League for years, if not decades, before it can recover from this situation where it faces "political death".

Hasina's fleeing the country essentially sealed the fate of Awami League, which led all most all democratic movements before and after the birth of Bangladesh, they add.

The Daily Star yesterday randomly tried to speak to top party leaders by phone, but their phones were found switched off in most cases. A several others did not pick up the call. Only two leaders agreed to talk off the record.

They said Hasina's last moment's decision to leave the country placed them in terrific situation and that they did not get enough time to secure their own safety.

"We are victims of her whim," said a central committee member.

Another leader alleged Hasina never listened to party leaders and made decisions on her own, isolating herself from the party colleagues.

"In the January 7 election, many Awami League activists did not vote for the party-nominated candidates. And during the recent protest, she failed to inspire party men to come to the streets," he said over the phone so sheepishly that it was difficult to hear.

Asked about the future of the party, he replied, "I first need to save my life. The thought of the future of the party can wait," he said, sounding frustrated.

Both leaders said Hasina's last efforts to bring partymen on the Streets to resist protesters that killed around 100 people across the country on Sunday to survive was a wrong decision. By making this decision, she set Awami League against the countrymen.

Hasina created a circle around her with some opportunists who "used" the party and the government for their personal benefits. Their advice has destroyed her own political career, a historical party like Awami League and tens of millions of party leaders and activists.

Whereabouts of the top party leaders and ministers of the immediate past cabinet are also not clear, as many have gone into hiding to save their lives amid violent attacks on ruling party men in different parts of the country.

Some of them, including Junaid Ahmad Palak and Hasan Mahmud, were reportedly caught at the airport while trying to flee the country yesterday. Several others were also beaten up.

According to the officials at the Dhaka airport, the civil aviation authority also detained general secretary of Bangladesh Chattra League's Dhaka University unit Tanbir Hasan Shaikat and the student body's Dhaka North unit president Riaz Mahmud. The detainees were handed over to the Bangladesh Army, according to officials.

Besides, the family members of two former ministers -- education minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury and Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives minister Md Tazul Islam left the country through the airport.

Former finance minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali, sports minister Nazmul Hassan Papon and Mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh also left the country through the airport since Sunday, sources said.

Former MP of Munshiganj-3 Mrinal Kanti Das also left the country.

Bangla daily Prothom Alo yesterday reported that Hasina was in favour of using greater force till the last moment, even as security personnel and top police officials declined to continue the bloodshed.

By Monday noon, tens of millions of people were marching towards the capital and Gono Bhaban with their one-point demand for her to leave office.

According to the Bangla daily, on Monday morning Hasina pushed top leaders of different law enforcement agencies and armed forces to take harsher actions against the protesters. She also refused to accept the briefing by the security personnel that the situation was completely out control.

Some of the party leaders and her advisers who were present at that time requested her to resign and hand over power to the armed forces, but Hasina did not pay any heed and asked them to strengthen the curfew instead, according to the report.

Hasina also expressed resentment at the top bosses of the armed forces and law enforcement agencies for their failure to tackle the situation and contain the protesters. Later, after consulting with her younger sister Sheikh Rehana, who was at Gono Bhaban with her, and her son Sajeeb Wazed, who is in the US, Hasina decided to step down.

According to Prothom Alo, Hasina at the last moment wanted to record a speech addressing the nation, but she was not given the time as there was intel that protesters would occupy Gono Bhaban in 45 minutes.

Hasina was given 45 minutes to pack up. She and her sister then left Gono Bhaban for Bangabhaban where she tendered her resignation to the president. Hasina took off in a military aircraft around 2:30pm and landed in India around 5:36pm.

'VERY SHORT NOTICE'

Indian external affairs minister S Jaishankar told an all-party meeting yesterday that Sheikh Hasina requested permission "at very short notice" to come to India following her forced resignation.

He also said Hasina, was in shock at the turn of events, reports Indian news portal NDTV.

He said the Indian government will give Hasina time to decide her next step.

There was discussion that Hasina may fly to the UK from India.

However, British immigration rules do not allow individuals to travel to that country to seek asylum or temporary refuge, the UK Home Office told NDTV yesterday, amid speculation that Hasina will seek asylum in that country.

The UK government also said individuals seeking asylum must do so "in the first safe country they reach".

"The UK has a proud record of providing protection for people who need it. However, there is no provision for someone to be allowed to travel to the UK to seek asylum or temporary refuge," a UK Home Office spokesperson stated.

Also, amid growing queries on visa status of Hasina and others, the US said visa records are confidential under the US law, reports UNB.

"Visa records are confidential under US law; therefore, we do not discuss the details of individual visa cases," a spokesperson at the US Embassy in Dhaka told reporters yesterday.​

 

[Saif]

যাওয়ার আগে আরও র* ক্ত/পা ত চেয়েছিলেন শেখ হাসিনা

 

[Saif]

'We shoot one dead ... but the rest don't budge'

Chilling video surfaces of police talking to ex-home minister about subduing the protesters

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'We shoot one dead ... but the rest don't budge'
Chilling video surfaces of police talking to ex-home minister about subduing the protesters

"We had to shoot them dead one by one, sir," a senior police officer by the name of Iqbal (according to the name plate on his chest) tells Asaduzzaman Khan, the former home minister, about their ordeal in dealing with the protesters.

One of the many video clips making the rounds on social media and messaging platforms shows a group of men standing in a huddle under the open sky watching a video clip while Iqbal voices his exasperation at not being able to subdue, presumably, the protesters.

While there is no obvious reference to the protests that rocked Bangladesh in late July and early August, one can only presume that the video Asaduzzaman was being shown was of a dead protester, considering Iqbal's remarks.

The 43-second video clip appears to have been recorded by someone holding a cell phone over the shoulders of Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun since his epaulette bearing the IGP's insignia are clearly visible as is his profile for a brief second.

Iqbal speaks of his frustration and failure of not being able to scare away the protesters. "We shoot one dead, or we wound one, and that is the only one that falls. The rest don't budge, sir."

He continues, "And that is why we are so scared and worried," as the home minister watches with a jaded expression the video clip showing a protester lying dead. There is not a hint of regret, or the slightest sign of guilt, nor reproach on the home minister's face.

Iqbal goes on to brief Asaduzzaman, who has been in hiding since August 5, about the dead body on the phone screen and most likely how that person was killed. Subtitles claim that the DMP commissioner is also among Iqbal's audience.

There have been a number of disturbingly violent video clips making the rounds on social media and messaging platforms showing police brutality. But this clip, about three-quarters of a minute, is perhaps the most chilling.

The keepers of the law and a minister of the republic, who are supposed to protect citizens, speak about killing them as if it were a skeet shoot.​

 

[Saif]

Students vow to resist attempts of counter-revolution

They urged all to remain on the streets until their victory, what he described as an initial achievement for now, is solidified.

en.prothomalo.com

Students vow to resist attempts of counter-revolution
CorrespondentDhaka University
Published: 14 Aug 2024, 23: 19

Ashraful Alam

There have been reports that the Awami League and its allies may attempt a ‘counter-revolution' on 15 August. If anyone makes such an attempt, they will be crushed under the wave of masses.

Coordinators of the Students Against Discrimination (SAD), which led the recent mass-uprising and toppled the Sheikh Hasina government, conveyed the warnings from a harmony rally at Shahbagh intersection in Dhaka on Wednesday.

Apart from them, leaders and activists of different student organisations, including Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal and Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir, attended the rally, under the banner, ‘Unity for Bangladesh’.

Sarjis Alam, a key coordinator of SAD, told the rally, “The fascists are trying to stage a counter-coup in Bangladesh. What can be more ridiculous than this! If there are any such attempts, you will not find anyone to attend your absentee funeral prayer (Gayebana Janaza). If you dare to stare at the uprising of students and masses, a crowd of millions will crush you.”

He said Bangladesh achieved independence after 16 years. If anyone stares at this, they will not be allowed in this country.

Sarjis also urged all to remain standby, to take to the streets until the power is handed over to an elected government.

Another SAD coordinator, Hasnat Abdullah, said all should be cautious so that those who have carried out assaults throughout the last 16 years cannot succeed in any conspiracies. There are reports that the fascists and their allies will attempt to take to the streets to stage a coup. If they try to do so, the students will respond forcefully.

He urged all to remain on the streets until their victory, what he described as an initial achievement for now, is solidified.

Addressing the rally, Abu Baker Majumder, another key coordinator, said, “Sheikh Hasina was forced to leave power due to the movement of students and people, but her allies continue to conspire. Following the successful revolution, allies of Awami League carried out assaults on our brothers from minority groups. We will not let them succeed.”

All left-leaning student organisations, including Chhatra Union and Samajtantrik Chhatra Front, actively participated in the previous programmes of the anti-discrimination student movement. They, however, were conspicuously absent in the rally on Wednesday.

Leaders from Chhatra Dal and Chhatra Shibir spoke on the occasion.

Ganesh Chandra Roy, president of Chhatra Dal’s Dhaka University unit, vowed to resist any conspiracies collectively. He accused Sheikh Hasina and her supporters of trying to instigate communal unrest. "We are all Bangladeshis, and we will stand together to prevent any conspiracy.”

Sibgatullah, central literature secretary of Chhatra Shibir, called for unity among all religious communities in Bangladesh and expressed a firm stance to combat any attempts to destablise the situation.

Akhtar Hossain, central convener of the Ganatantrik Chhatra Shakti, said those defeated by the uprising are now conspiring to destabilise the country. "We will resist all conspiracies and remain committed to our goal of a harmonious Bangladesh."​

 

[Saif]

Column by Mahfuz Anam: Mindless killing changed everything

Blinded by unquestioned power, the government is refusing to accept the new reality.

www.thedailystar.net

Column by Mahfuz Anam: Mindless killing changed everything
Blinded by unquestioned power, the government is refusing to accept the new reality

It must be investigated as to what led to such a large-scale killing in the hands of law enforcers. PHOTO: PALASH KHAN

The prime minister and several ministers keep on asking: since the quota reform has already been implemented, why are the students still demonstrating? The repetition of this question only proves how blind to facts and disconnected with the people the government and Awami League leaders are. They are denying or seem to be oblivious to the fact that over 200 killed—the government itself admits to 150—and thousands injured by the indiscriminate firing by the police and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has totally changed the situation. In one eye hospital in Dhaka, during the violence, nearly 400 people who sustained eye injuries were treated, 300 of whom had to be admitted, and 250 had to undergo eye surgery. The majority of them had pellet (a particular type of ammunition used by police during the recent violence) wounds in one or both eyes. Imagine what the total figure could be like. We have no count yet of how many will have to amputate one or both arms or legs due to gunshots, and how many more will have to be operated upon. How many will really return to normal life? Everything points to mindless violence that cannot be termed as police action to quell unrest that emanates from usual demonstrations in our part of the world. The evidence is of a mindset of "shoot at sight," as announced by an AL leader.

Today's issue is seeking justice. Justice for the massacre of students and other citizens, the unleashing of a killing machine that the police and BGB turned out to be, the large-scale arrests, the "block raids," the house-to-house search, the false cases, and the insults of terming the demonstrators in general to be agents of destruction and anti-Bangladesh forces.

The all-encompassing issue that has alienated the students and enraged the people is the atmosphere of fear under which all students, youth, politically involved citizens, and people in general are having to live. (A father called this author and said, "I have a school-going son. I become tense with every sound of a car stopping near my house at night".)

The killings definitely stand as the most brutal retaliation by a government on any civic movement in the post-liberation Bangladesh history—and may be that of the subcontinent. We shudder at the thought of how a civilian government could allow its law enforcers to attack its own people with such brutality. The killing was not just an event, but one that took place over several days. Wasn't there any reflection, any afterthought and reassessment at the end of the first, second or third day that such heartless and continuous killing of one's own people must stop?

What brought the party that led us during the Liberation War to this? Over 15 years of unaccountable power, greed, cronyism, wealth accumulation, abuse of authority, and the attitude that they are above the law.

Of all the deaths, the most heart-rending is perhaps the story of Riya Gope, a six-year-old in Nayamati, Narayanganj, who was playing on the rooftop of their four-storey building. On July 19 afternoon, when police started firing on the demonstrators on the street near her house, her father Dipak Kumar Gope rushed to the roof to get her; he was carrying his daughter back to their flat when a bullet struck the child's head. She died at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) on July 25. How could a bullet hit someone on the roof of a four-storey building unless the police took an aim to do so? Was Riya a threat? The explanation will most likely be that it was an accident. But can that be acceptable when she was in her father's arms on the roof of a four-storey building?

Use of helicopters to fire sound grenades and tear gas shells is a new element we saw in crowd-handling by the law enforcers this time around. However, there are disturbing accounts from the public, reporters and especially photographers that rifle shots were fired from these helicopters upon demonstrating crowds. On July 18 and 19, around mid-morning, helicopters hovered over Mayor Hanif Flyover, Shanir Akhra, Kajla and Signboard areas, sometimes sweeping down as they flew and fired on the crowd gathered below. These helicopters were clearly marked with the insignia of our law enforcers.

The case of Sumaiya Akter in Narayanganj adds credibility to this claim. She was 20 years old and the mother of a healthy two-month-old daughter. Hearing the sound of the helicopter and that of the clashes going on outside, following her mother, Sumaiya ventured out to the veranda of her sixth floor apartment to see what was going on. She got hit by a live bullet and died soon after. Where could the bullet come from? Given the height and the location of the apartment, the most likely possibility is that the shot came from a helicopter, as claimed by her family. This gives substance to claims by many others that they saw gunshots coming from helicopters.

How can a protesting crowd be fired upon from the air by their own government? Firing from helicopters is known to occur only when operating in an "enemy" territory or a location captured by armed terrorists. How can our own BGB or Rab or police fire upon our own people in such a manner?

We demand a credible and thorough investigation on the use of helicopters and their firing on demonstrators. While the judicial investigation to probe all deaths should continue, a separate and fast-track probe must be conducted to reveal the truth on this specific matter.

It must also be investigated as to what led to such a large-scale killing in the hands of law enforcers. Who made the threat assessment, and how? At what stage were they allowed to open fire on demonstrators, and who gave the orders to shoot? The rifles used were all modern and sophisticated. BGB used weapons meant to protect our borders. How could they be allowed to tackle student demonstrators with the same weapons? The investigation should also consider whether or not excessive force and disproportionate firepower were used against the demonstrators, none of whom have so far been seen to carry firearms. They were all carrying sticks and iron rods.

It is our considered view that the government and the ruling party continue to live in their own bubble and underestimate the depth of the people's grievances that has resulted from the killings of students and the public. We also feel that peace will not return to the campuses and the streets until justice is done and convincingly seen to be done. Force can be used to "calm" the situation, but it will be temporary. The lengthier the period of uncertainty, the more grievous will be its impact on our economy and the country's international acceptability.

Those who are used to using power to get their way are usually not aware of its limits. We have used Ansar, police, Rab, BGB and even the army, and an extreme measure like curfew. What has been the result? Yes, brutality, death, arrests and harassment can be further ratcheted up. But all that will generate more resentment, deeper hatred, and critical desperation. Such use of force may, at best, show a superficial show of calm, but will never solve our real problem of "power corrupting and absolute power corrupting absolutely" (adopting Lord Acton's time-honoured observation).

We urge the government to no longer hide behind convenient narratives that stand totally contradicted by facts. We further urge them to examine the brutality with which the demonstrators have been treated and the death and injuries that ordinary students and the people have had to suffer, and respond to the call for justice. We also urge them to stop befooling themselves as facts are in people's hands due to modern technology. Yes, there could be a lot of false news and videos in the digital sphere. But there are many credible ones too. Wisdom should compel the government not to brush them aside, which it will do only at its own peril.

Mahfuz Anam is the editor and publisher of The Daily Star.​

 

[Saif]

Bangladesh’s iron lady Sheikh Hasina falls after 15yrs in power, flees to India

Bangladesh’s iron lady Sheikh Hasina falls after 15yrs in power, flees to India

www.newagebd.net

Bangladesh’s iron lady Sheikh Hasina falls after 15yrs in power, flees to India
Ahammad Foyez 05 August, 2024, 17:56

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina resigned on Monday and fled the country, ending her 15-year rule amid an unprecedented student-led mass uprising against her authoritarian regime.

She left her Ganabhaban official residence by a military helicopter with her sister Sheikh Rehana before the army chief, General Waker-Uz-Zaman, confirmed her resignation at a press conference in front of his Dhaka cantonment office.

Thousands of people stormed to the prime minister’s Ganabhaban residence in jubilation soon after she left and some climbed atop a statue of the country’s founding president, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

She reached India, where Hasina and her family were sheltered, Indian daily The Hindu reported hours after the ousted Bangladesh ruler fled the country.

Before confirming Hasina’s resignation, Waker-Uz-Zaman said that he had invited representatives of different political parties and discussed with them the formation of an interim government.

‘We had a nice discussion. I think this discussion would be fruitful. And we will run the country through forming an interim government,’ said Waker-Uz-Zaman, adding that they would go to president Md Shahabuddin Chuppu to discuss the formation of the new government.

Waker-Uz-Zaman confirmed that representatives of all major parties, except the Awami League, were present at the meeting.

He assured all of arranging trials for all killings and injustices and said that he would take responsibility for saving people’s lives and properties.

‘Do not lose your hope. The many demands that you have we will fulfil that and will restore peace and discipline in the country,’ he said, urging all to refrain from vandalism, killing, and clashes.

At noon, Inter-Services Public Relations announced that the army chief would address the nation, asking protesters to keep their patience until then.

As street barriers were removed in Dhaka, thousands of protesters rushed to Shahbagh Square in anticipation of Hasnina’s fall.

Waker was supposed to address the nation at 2:00pm but later it was deferred to 3:00pm.

He finally skipped the address and instead held a press conference, which triggered wild jubilation among the protesters and opposition supporters.

Following the resignation of Hasina, who was labelled as a fascist and dictator by protestors, hundreds of thousands of people also entered the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban.

The mob set fire to different entities, including AL offices, police stations, and media houses, following Hasina’s fall.

After forming a government in January 2009, Hasina, until Monday, ignored all local and international criticisms against her misrules, including serious violations of human rights, snatching of freedom of expression, enacting various draconian laws, massive corruption, destroying of all democratic institutions, and ruination of the electoral system.

She ignored all political demands for fair elections and was elected in the 2014 general election, with 153 lawmakers winning unopposed amid a boycott of all opposition parties.

Ballot boxes were filled up well before voting in the 2014 general election, and her latest parliament was formed in 2024 in a one-sided general election that was levelled as a dummy election.

At the latest, her government carried out a massive crackdown on students and other protestors when the Student Movement Against Discrimination, a platform of anti-quota protestors, demanded reform of the quota system in public service.

Around 350 people were killed in the July massacre against protesting students and ordinary people that started with the Bangladesh Chhatra League, the student wing of the then-ruling Awami League of Sheikh Hasina, carrying out an attack on agitators on July 15.

The attack added fuel to the student protests, which turned into civil unrest due to the mass killings and mass arrests of agitators.

Students presented nine-point demands, including an unconditional public apology from Sheikh Hasina by accepting responsibility for the killing of more than 200 people in violent clashes between July 16 and July 21 and their aftermath.

Students also sought the removal of her home minister, law minister, road transport and bridges minister, and education minister, assurance of justice for the killing of students; freeing all arrested students; and withdrawal of false cases against them.

Without addressing the demands, the authority picked up and detained six key coordinators of the student movement unlawfully between four and six days at the detective branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police.

The six coordinators—Nahid Islam, Sarjis Alam, Hasnat Abdullah, Asif Mahmud, Nusrat Tabassum, and Abu Baker Mojumder—observed a 32-hour hunger strike at the DB office before they were freed amid growing local and international criticism.

Later, at a mass rally at the Central Shaheed Minar on Friday, they announced a one-point demand for Sheikh Haisna’s resignation, as their nine-point demands were not addressed.

People flood the Shahbagh crossing in the capital on Monday to celebrate the resignation of Sheikh Hasina as prime minister and her fleeing from the country. — Sony Ramany​

 

[Vikings]

@Bilal9 , bhai , I'm wondering where some of my recent posts gone? Is that same for you and others? As far I can remember I replied to your post about the interim government. But it's absent from my latest activities.

Also it looks the forum was down. Are those posts lost?

 

[Bilal9]

@Bilal9 , bhai , I'm wondering where some of my recent posts gone? Is that same for you and others? As far I can remember I replied to your post about the interim government. But it's absent from my latest activities.

Also it looks the forum was down. Are those posts lost?

Not sure bhai - I will ask @TheNewb77 bhai. I was not involved in the forum re-start.

 

[Saif]

Hasina fled to save herself, leaving her father destroyed

The simple term to describe political changes that have taken place around the world is "revolution." There was a time when the communists would use the term "revolution" very frequently, whether relevant or not. Now they don't even utter the word. The political change of power that occurs from...

en.prothomalo.com

Hasina fled to save herself, leaving her father destroyed
Mohiuddin Ahmad
Updated: 20 Aug 2024, 19: 12

Vandalised mural of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at the ground floor of demolished Bangabandhu Museum at Dhanmondi 32 Zahidul Salim

The simple term to describe political changes that have taken place around the world is "revolution." There was a time when the communists would use the term "revolution" very frequently, whether relevant or not. Now they don't even utter the word. The political change of power that occurs from time to time is often violent. Change of power comprises two sides, the victors and the defeated. The victors call it revolution, the defeated call it conspiracy.

A one-party rule (BKSAL) descended upon the country in 1975. There was no provision kept in the constitution for change of government. The constitution stated that if there was to be any change, that would be in accordance to the wishes of the president. On 15 August power changed hands through a massacre. President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was killed along with his family.

The 1975 uprising was transpired by an angered and provoked section of the ruling party. A section of the army joined hands with them

Sheikh Mujibur's government was toppled at a time when its popularity was in the dregs. There was a time when Sheikh Mujib was at the pinnacle of popularity. He had attained that position even before he went to power. There are few such instances in history, but the changes that took place in just a couple of years were unimaginable to many. And five decade on, the events were repeated on 5 August 2024. Surrounded by sycophants and opportunists, Sheikh Hasina thought things would continue this way forever. Even 24 hours before her downfall she perhaps could not perceive what public anger accumulated over the years could do.

The military coup of 1975 was unprecedented in our history. The military coups that took place before during the Pakistan rule had been bloodless. In 1975 it was a bloody military coup. Those who carried it out referred to it as a revolution. Later Awami League referred to it was a national and international conspiracy. My simple analysis is that the 1975 uprising was transpired by an angered and provoked section of the ruling party. A section of the army joined hands with them.

In 1971 Sheikh Mujib was the people's leader. In 1975 he was the ruler. In 1971 the Pakistan army wanted to suppress the people's movement and aspirations by whisking away Sheikh Mujib. That did not work. The 1975 move was an uprising against Sheikh Mujib's rule. While the people were not directly involved in the uprising, it had their support. Other than the ruling party, almost all other political parties supported the 1975 coup.

In 1990 we saw power changing hands again. A wave of enthusiasm and euphoria swept over the people -- we had overcome the state of military rule, in uniform or out, and had entered the realm of democracy. But it didn't take long for that bubble to burst. We have seen a continuity of autocratic rule in the garb of democratic government.

The one-party rule which we had seen from the seventies did not change even after the so-called switch over to democracy. We saw the rule of an individual. It was Khaleda, then Hasina, then Khaleda and their families that held the country hostage. Then 1/11 came along and shook things up a bit. But the politicians learnt nothing from 1/11.

Post 1/11, it was the Sheikh Hasina government that ruled the country at a stretch from 2009 to 2024. Three farcical or one-sided elections were held in this span of time. Sheikh Hasina would decide how many seats her party would get and how many the opposition would be given. We haven't seen or heard of such a situation anywhere. The government was run by one person, her family, her kith and kin, sycophants and goons. The people were simmering in anger, but found no way to give voice to their ire.

The political parties of the conventional ilk in country could hardly do anything. They held rallies and processions, they were attacked and injured, then beat a retreat. When the student movement took off in the name of quota reforms, it was not perceived that this movement would take on such massive proportions. The strategy adopted by the government to suppress this movement was the strategy of absolutely irrational rulers. Sheikh Hasina's stay in power, to a great extent, depended on the police force. But that protection broke down. The students simply marched on, ready to take bullets in their chests. Sheikh Hasina then called in the army. The army decided not to stand against the people. And Hasina's house of cards came tumbling down.

The question may also arise as to how justified it is to express any mourning for Sheikh Hasina's autocrat father killed five decades ago, while the blood of those who were killed to fulfill her lust for power still remains fresh. This is a new discourse.
The anger of the people, the manner in which this ire was manifest, went even beyond Sheikh Hasina, Awami League and her sycophants, and fell upon Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Sheikh Mujib had gradually prepared the people of this country for independence. His house on Dhanmondi Road 32, which had been made into a museum, was vandalised.

For 15 years we had seen that every year on the morning of 15 August, Dhanmondi Road 32 was blocked on either side because the prime minister would be coming to lay wreaths at Bangabandhu's mural. Once she finished paying her respects, the road would be opened. All government officials were obliged to go there with banners. The party leaders and activists would hire people from all over to come there in exchange of money. The people were not participants in this display of mourning. On 15 August this year we saw similar people with sticks, bamboos and poles, taking over the road and beating up people.

The deceased Sheikh Mujib has had to pay the price of the anger, the ire and the frustration against Sheikh Hasina and her various strategies to cling on to power. Hasina has fled and saved herself, destroying her father Sheikh Mujib.

The language of protest in this country is manifest in damaging vehicles, setting fire to the homes of the opponents, beating up the opponents. But the question will arise today or tomorrow whether the burning of the house on Road 32 can be categorised as the same.

In 1971 people thronged the house on Road 32, arriving there in streams. In 1975 the bloody coup took place there, and later the house was set on fire. Many might gain a sort of sadist pleasure in siding with the attack, with slogans against fascism. They are unwilling to risk mob popularity by stating that this event may cast a slur, however minor, on the recent mass uprising.

Then again, the question may also arise as to how justified it is to express any mourning for Sheikh Hasina's autocrat father killed five decades ago, while the blood of those who were killed to fulfill her lust for power still remains fresh. This is a new discourse. Sheikh Hasina's rule was riddled with flaws. Innumerable people were victim of her arrogance and her vengeance. There is need for such evil politics to come to an end.
In recent years Awami League spread hatred about their political opponent Ziaur Rahman, the founder of BNP. They denied that Ziaur Rahman has been a freedom fighter. This hurt many people and so naturally there will be counter reaction to that. That befell the house on Road 32. Nothing healthy emanates from the politics of hate.

* Mohiuddin Ahmad is a writer and researcher​

 

[Bilal9]

Hasina fled to save herself, leaving her father destroyed

The simple term to describe political changes that have taken place around the world is "revolution." There was a time when the communists would use the term "revolution" very frequently, whether relevant or not. Now they don't even utter the word. The political change of power that occurs from...

en.prothomalo.com

Hasina fled to save herself, leaving her father destroyed
Mohiuddin Ahmad
Updated: 20 Aug 2024, 19: 12

View attachment 7694

Vandalised mural of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at the ground floor of demolished Bangabandhu Museum at Dhanmondi 32 Zahidul Salim

The simple term to describe political changes that have taken place around the world is "revolution." There was a time when the communists would use the term "revolution" very frequently, whether relevant or not. Now they don't even utter the word. The political change of power that occurs from time to time is often violent. Change of power comprises two sides, the victors and the defeated. The victors call it revolution, the defeated call it conspiracy.

A one-party rule (BKSAL) descended upon the country in 1975. There was no provision kept in the constitution for change of government. The constitution stated that if there was to be any change, that would be in accordance to the wishes of the president. On 15 August power changed hands through a massacre. President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was killed along with his family.

The 1975 uprising was transpired by an angered and provoked section of the ruling party. A section of the army joined hands with them

Sheikh Mujibur's government was toppled at a time when its popularity was in the dregs. There was a time when Sheikh Mujib was at the pinnacle of popularity. He had attained that position even before he went to power. There are few such instances in history, but the changes that took place in just a couple of years were unimaginable to many. And five decade on, the events were repeated on 5 August 2024. Surrounded by sycophants and opportunists, Sheikh Hasina thought things would continue this way forever. Even 24 hours before her downfall she perhaps could not perceive what public anger accumulated over the years could do.

The military coup of 1975 was unprecedented in our history. The military coups that took place before during the Pakistan rule had been bloodless. In 1975 it was a bloody military coup. Those who carried it out referred to it as a revolution. Later Awami League referred to it was a national and international conspiracy. My simple analysis is that the 1975 uprising was transpired by an angered and provoked section of the ruling party. A section of the army joined hands with them.

In 1971 Sheikh Mujib was the people's leader. In 1975 he was the ruler. In 1971 the Pakistan army wanted to suppress the people's movement and aspirations by whisking away Sheikh Mujib. That did not work. The 1975 move was an uprising against Sheikh Mujib's rule. While the people were not directly involved in the uprising, it had their support. Other than the ruling party, almost all other political parties supported the 1975 coup.

In 1990 we saw power changing hands again. A wave of enthusiasm and euphoria swept over the people -- we had overcome the state of military rule, in uniform or out, and had entered the realm of democracy. But it didn't take long for that bubble to burst. We have seen a continuity of autocratic rule in the garb of democratic government.

The one-party rule which we had seen from the seventies did not change even after the so-called switch over to democracy. We saw the rule of an individual. It was Khaleda, then Hasina, then Khaleda and their families that held the country hostage. Then 1/11 came along and shook things up a bit. But the politicians learnt nothing from 1/11.

Post 1/11, it was the Sheikh Hasina government that ruled the country at a stretch from 2009 to 2024. Three farcical or one-sided elections were held in this span of time. Sheikh Hasina would decide how many seats her party would get and how many the opposition would be given. We haven't seen or heard of such a situation anywhere. The government was run by one person, her family, her kith and kin, sycophants and goons. The people were simmering in anger, but found no way to give voice to their ire.

The political parties of the conventional ilk in country could hardly do anything. They held rallies and processions, they were attacked and injured, then beat a retreat. When the student movement took off in the name of quota reforms, it was not perceived that this movement would take on such massive proportions. The strategy adopted by the government to suppress this movement was the strategy of absolutely irrational rulers. Sheikh Hasina's stay in power, to a great extent, depended on the police force. But that protection broke down. The students simply marched on, ready to take bullets in their chests. Sheikh Hasina then called in the army. The army decided not to stand against the people. And Hasina's house of cards came tumbling down.

The question may also arise as to how justified it is to express any mourning for Sheikh Hasina's autocrat father killed five decades ago, while the blood of those who were killed to fulfill her lust for power still remains fresh. This is a new discourse.
The anger of the people, the manner in which this ire was manifest, went even beyond Sheikh Hasina, Awami League and her sycophants, and fell upon Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Sheikh Mujib had gradually prepared the people of this country for independence. His house on Dhanmondi Road 32, which had been made into a museum, was vandalised.

For 15 years we had seen that every year on the morning of 15 August, Dhanmondi Road 32 was blocked on either side because the prime minister would be coming to lay wreaths at Bangabandhu's mural. Once she finished paying her respects, the road would be opened. All government officials were obliged to go there with banners. The party leaders and activists would hire people from all over to come there in exchange of money. The people were not participants in this display of mourning. On 15 August this year we saw similar people with sticks, bamboos and poles, taking over the road and beating up people.

The deceased Sheikh Mujib has had to pay the price of the anger, the ire and the frustration against Sheikh Hasina and her various strategies to cling on to power. Hasina has fled and saved herself, destroying her father Sheikh Mujib.

The language of protest in this country is manifest in damaging vehicles, setting fire to the homes of the opponents, beating up the opponents. But the question will arise today or tomorrow whether the burning of the house on Road 32 can be categorised as the same.

In 1971 people thronged the house on Road 32, arriving there in streams. In 1975 the bloody coup took place there, and later the house was set on fire. Many might gain a sort of sadist pleasure in siding with the attack, with slogans against fascism. They are unwilling to risk mob popularity by stating that this event may cast a slur, however minor, on the recent mass uprising.

Then again, the question may also arise as to how justified it is to express any mourning for Sheikh Hasina's autocrat father killed five decades ago, while the blood of those who were killed to fulfill her lust for power still remains fresh. This is a new discourse. Sheikh Hasina's rule was riddled with flaws. Innumerable people were victim of her arrogance and her vengeance. There is need for such evil politics to come to an end.
In recent years Awami League spread hatred about their political opponent Ziaur Rahman, the founder of BNP. They denied that Ziaur Rahman has been a freedom fighter. This hurt many people and so naturally there will be counter reaction to that. That befell the house on Road 32. Nothing healthy emanates from the politics of hate.

* Mohiuddin Ahmad is a writer and researcher​

The lesson received from the 1975 Sheikh Mujib family assassination and also what happened after the ouster of the Sheikh's daughter is that the people in Bangladesh will sometimes suffer the effects of tyrants silently for a few years, but once their patience wears out - then watch out!

The difference in 2024 is (hopefully) that the student movement will put into effect organizational processes (by changing out the constitution if need be) to halt any repeat of the crony capitalism, corruption and kleptocracy. The people in Bangladesh in 2024 are not the same like their grandparents in 1975. In the last twenty years, the new generation "Z" have become far more politically aware and far more educated due to social media and the Internet. They will not stand for or exchange one kleptocrat for another - any longer. Sheikh Hasina escaped the wrath of the people this time - the next kleptocrat should take a lesson and not try their luck next time - because there may be no escape then.

I was personally astonished how courageous even ten year olds have become, kids who lost their limbs -sitting and smiling in hospital beds, yet so resolved that they would not fear dying again to establish their rights. I have never seen such resolve anywhere else globally. When someone is not afraid of death, no tyrant can hold them back.

 

[Saif]

‘Gang of 4 behind Hasina’s fall’

Her inner circle cut her off from ground reality, an AL leader tells an Indian newspaper

www.thedailystar.net

‘Gang of 4 behind Hasina’s fall’
Her inner circle cut her off from ground reality, an AL leader tells an Indian newspaper

FILE PHOTO

An Awami League leader has blamed Sheikh Hasina's inner circle, who he described as the "Gang of Four that cut her off from the ground reality", for her fall and departure, reports The Indian Express.

The Indian Express spoke to several leaders of the party who feel Hasina has abandoned them in such a situation that put their lives in danger with angry mobs targetting their homes and businesses.

"We were able to get out of our homes just in time, when the Army chief was addressing the nation around 3pm and people were glued to TV screens," one of the Awami League leaders told the Indian newspaper. "My family and I would have been lynched and burnt alive had we been caught," another leader, who was a minister, said.

The Indian Express said some of the Awami League leaders regretted the turn of events, especially the firing at the students and protesters in July, and then on August 3-4 when people came out on the streets.

One of the leaders alleged that Hasina stopped listening to them, as he blamed her inner circle "the Gang of Four".

He named Hasina's son and ICT adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy, private industry and investment adviser Salman F Rahman, Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader and the then home minister Asaduzzaman Khan.

"This Gang of Four led to her downfall. She had blind faith in these people, and lost the political instinct that she had in the past," The Indian Express quoted him as saying.

The Awami League leaders also described not bringing the BNP on board for the elections in January as Hasina's "major mistake".

Citing sources, the newspaper said some AL leaders were put in touch with Tarique Rahman, the BNP acting chairman in exile in London, through intermediaries.

But Hasina did not greenlight the proposal to establish a backchannel with Tarique in January 2023, a year before the elections. Tarique was convicted of plotting the grenade attack that targeted Hasina at an Awami League rally in 2004.

"We could sense the anger among the people due to corruption, chandabaaji (extortion), police atrocities… and getting BNP on board for the elections would have taken that steam off. We could have still won and kept the party in power," the AL leader told The Indian Express.

Even during the protests in early July, the AL leaders' bid to make Hasina meet the student movement leaders had failed, it said, citing sources.

"The last nail in the coffin was when the Detective Branch picked up the student leaders in July and released them after intimidating them and extracting a commitment to withdraw the agitation," the newspaper wrote. "The tactic backfired, and the students made it public how they had been forcibly asked to withdraw the agitation. This triggered a chain of events, leading to her flight from the country."

The Bangladesh Army in a statement said it had provided shelter to 626 people from different walks of life, including 24 political leaders, five judges, 19 civil administration officials and 28 police officers, after the downfall of Hasina. Several top AL leaders, including members of her cabinet, have been arrested in cases over killings during the protests.

Those who spoke to The India Express also feel the party, which spearheaded Bangladesh's struggle for independence after its formation 75 years ago, still has the ability to turn around despite the existential crisis.

Fir this to happen, they told the Indian newspaper, Hasina should nominate people on the ground who have a connection with the people. "This is going to be a long haul," one of the leaders said, talking about the future first steps …. People are still angry… We have to give them time."​

 

[Saif]

আন্দোলনে ছাত্রদের ওপর গুলি চালানো তিন হেলমেটধারী আটক

কোটা সংস্কার আন্দোলনে গত ১৫ জুলাই ছাত্র জনতার ওপর নির্বিচারে গুলি চালানো ৩ জনকে নিউ মার্কেট এলাকা থেকে আটক করেছেন বৈষম্যবিরোধী শিক্ষার্থীরা। তারা হলেন আসিকুল ইসলাম (৩৭), আমিনুল ইসলাম সুমন (৩৭) ও মো. সোহেল (৩২)। জানা গেছে, ওই ৩ জনকে আটক করে ঢাকা কলেজের ভেতরে নিয়ে গণধোলাই দেওয়া হয়। এ সংবাদ পে

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

আন্দোলনে ছাত্রদের ওপর গুলি চালানো তিন হেলমেটধারী আটক
এফই অনলাইন ডেস্ক
Published :
Aug 22, 2024 22:10
Updated :
Aug 22, 2024 22:10

কোটা সংস্কার আন্দোলনে গত ১৫ জুলাই ছাত্র জনতার ওপর নির্বিচারে গুলি চালানো ৩ জনকে নিউ মার্কেট এলাকা থেকে আটক করেছেন বৈষম্যবিরোধী শিক্ষার্থীরা। তারা হলেন আসিকুল ইসলাম (৩৭), আমিনুল ইসলাম সুমন (৩৭) ও মো. সোহেল (৩২)।

জানা গেছে, ওই ৩ জনকে আটক করে ঢাকা কলেজের ভেতরে নিয়ে গণধোলাই দেওয়া হয়।

এ সংবাদ পেয়ে নিউমার্কেট থানার পুলিশ সেনাবাহিনীর সহযোগিতায় তাদের উদ্ধার করে চিকিৎসার জন্য ঢাকা মেডিক্যাল কলেজ (ঢামেক) হাসপাতালে নিয়ে আসে। ঘটনার সত্যতা নিশ্চিত করেছেন নিউমার্কেট থানার এসআই মো. কামাল উদ্দিন।

এদিকে আহতদের প্রাথমিক চিকিৎসা দিয়ে নিয়ে যাওয়ার সময় শিক্ষার্থীরা বেশকিছু সময় তাদের গাড়ি আটকে বিক্ষোভ করেন। পরে এক পর্যায়ে শিক্ষার্থীদের বুঝিয়ে তাদেরকে থানায় নিয়ে যাওয়া হয়।

শিক্ষার্থীরা জানান, ছাত্রলীগ-যুবলীগ ও তাদের অঙ্গ সংগঠনের হেলমেট পরা পিস্তল হাতে নিয়ে বৈষম্য বিরোধী আন্দোলনে শিক্ষার্থীদের গুলি করে হত্যা করেছে। তাদের পিস্তল হাতে নিয়ে গুলি করার ফুটেজ ও ছবি আমাদের মোবাইলে আছে।​

 

[Saif]

August 5 in retrospect: A narrow escape from total surrender to autocracy

I HAVE lived outside Bangladesh for roughly two decades. Over the years, I have met people from many parts of the world with different backgrounds. For more than a decade I have been teaching at International Islamic University Malaysia that has academics and students from about one hundred...

www.newagebd.net

August 5 in retrospect: A narrow escape from total surrender to autocracy
Md Mahmudul Hasan 27 August, 2024, 00:00

Jubilant crowd in the streets of Dhaka after the fall of Sheikh Hasina on August 5. | New Age/Md Saurav

I HAVE lived outside Bangladesh for roughly two decades. Over the years, I have met people from many parts of the world with different backgrounds. For more than a decade I have been teaching at International Islamic University Malaysia that has academics and students from about one hundred countries. When meeting people from countries under autocratic rule, I have seen terrified and trembling faces and heard stories of deceit, cruelty, violence and bondage.

One day, one of my international students came to my office for consultation. After giving them advice on matters relating to their education, I asked them about human rights situations in their country. I anticipated hearing a verbal reply, but I was struck by their silence. Although the student didn’t utter a single word, I got my answer. Holding back their tears, they then managed to explain in brief how life was in their country.

The student told me that their fathers, brothers and other male relatives had been drifting in and out of prison for no crime. The stressful existence of those men outside jail is no less horrifying than their life behind bars. Often, they have to remain in hiding — away from home — for days, weeks and months, leaving vulnerable women and children alone. They are not perceived as supporters of the autocratic government of their country, and that was enough for the police or ruling party thugs to hound them.

On another occasion, I was talking with another international student from a different country which is also under tyrannical rule. They had graduated from International Islamic University Malaysia a long time ago and came back to Malaysia for further education. Their decision to return to Malaysia seemed to be for both education and security reasons. They found life back home intolerable.

I had some idea about their country, as it was often in the news. But I wanted to hear from the horse’s mouth. So, in my characteristic style, I asked them how life was in their country. A deep sigh of anguish and sadness followed. A great burden of anxiety and disappointment rippled through their expression, as they tried hard to remain composed. They stared straight, as their eyes were filled with gloom. After collecting themselves, they said that peace remained elusive in their country, as persecution was rampant.

‘Why,’ I asked.

There must have been a long list of reasons why they experienced economic and political difficulties back home, but they chose to share an innocuous one.

They replied, ‘Living costs have gone through the roof and competition in the job market has been increasingly fierce.’ The conversation became delicate and difficult to navigate. It had an abrupt end.

Their country is resourceful and hence there was no reason for prices of basic commodities to shoot up. Citizens knew well how their country was being robbed by inept and corrupt rulers but were unable to raise their voices in protest. Public protests were banned in their country, and even a hint of dissent was met with imprisonment or execution.

What I learnt from my exchanges with people from various countries is that citizens under repressive regimes live in slavery-like conditions.

In the past when I heard stories of sufferings under autocratic rule, I had a sense of complacency as I thought that I understood them. But I was wrong.

The myriad dimensions of victimhood under totalitarianism became clearer to me when electoral democracy in Bangladesh was sent into exile and Hasina’s autocracy finally held absolute sway over its 170 million people.

We came to understand the full extent of the wretchedness that citizens endure under a despotic system. We saw how people belonging to opposition parties were tortured and killed by security forces or by rampaging thugs of Hasina’s ruling party.

But how about the rest of us who are not involved in party politics? Were we spared the wrath of Hasina’s totalitarianism? Weren’t we shocked by the agony of seeing our country drifting into a horror-filled land? Weren’t we gripped by fear and uncertainty and unable to break free from the juggernaut of a narcissistic regime? Weren’t many Bangladeshis forced to pretend to love the ruling party even though they were full of resentment and bitterness against the regime?

Is it all over? Aren’t we still affected by the economic misfortune caused by massive corruption and capital flight on Hasina’s watch?

In short, we were on the verge of despair when Hasina’s 15-year rule bore all the hallmarks of totalitarianism. Except for a privileged few belonging to the ruling party and the government, most Bangladeshis — including ordinary Awami League affiliates — were forced to surrender to Hasina’s autocracy.

We had no clue how to achieve liberation from the morass of fear until our young people rallied around the anti-discrimination student movement. They took to the streets en masse in countrywide protests. Initially, we in Bangladesh and in its diasporas made different predictions about the outcome of the student movement. Given Hasina’s mounting record of repression against dissent voices, we were very worried about the safety of our young people.

With the connivance of security forces, Hasina had managed to squash the first wave of student-led protests. What we now know is that from 16 July until she resigned and left our country on August 5, 2024, her security forces and party men killed about one thousand young people through shootings in broad daylight. At one point, she emerged as victorious and was under the illusion that everything was under control.

In an apparent move to embolden her, foreign envoys were lining up to meet her. On July 31, 2024 one envoy of a South Asian country and on August 1, 2024 another of a European nation called on Hasina at Gono Bhaban. Both praised her for restoring normalcy and stability in the country.

I don’t think those diplomats were unaware that, translated in real terms, normalcy meant mass slaughter of our young people and the maiming of thousands of them. We saw in utter helplessness teenage students handcuffed and humiliated and girls hounded and crammed into police vans. Students were arrested from campuses, streets and their houses.

Then came the second wave of the revolution on August 5, 2024. The police used force again on that morning, but our brave and valiant youths conquered the fear of death. They refused to surrender to Hasina’s autocracy. She fell and fled early in the afternoon.

Had things turned out differently on that day and Hasina managed to cling to power by spilling more blood on the streets, our fate would have been sealed for a very long time. More foreign envoys would have gone to Gono Bhaban to congratulate her and to take advantage of our country in all possible ways. She would have removed all guardrails, and we would have forgotten our dreams of freedom for a foreseeable future. Hasina’s autocracy would have gained normalcy, and a section of our intellectual elites would have continued to give her epistemic cover-ups.

Freedom is not free. We should never forget that our students and young people have paid for it with pools of blood. Our country occupies a small area in the world map, but has a large population. It was a price worth paying for the freedom of all Bangladeshis.​

 

[Saif]

Hasina falls, lands in India & leaves behind a sputtering economy

I acknowledge that I have borrowed the first half of the title of this article from the Daily Telegraph (online) of India. It is not surprising that that Sheikh Hasina landed in India. During her 15-year rule, India has enjoyed very close ties with her authoritarian regime. In fact, she was greatl

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Hasina falls, lands in India & leaves behind a sputtering economy
Muhammad Mahmood
Published :
Aug 26, 2024 22:25
Updated :
Aug 26, 2024 22:25

I acknowledge that I have borrowed the first half of the title of this article from the Daily Telegraph (online) of India.

It is not surprising that that Sheikh Hasina landed in India. During her 15-year rule, India has enjoyed very close ties with her authoritarian regime. In fact, she was greatly emboldened by India to consolidate her repressive regime to achieve its objectives in Bangladesh.

Former Indian Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor told the Indian TV channel, NDTV, “Hasina ji has had (good) relationships with all Indian leaders. She is a friend of India, and India is a friend of hers”. It now appears that Hasina has no other taker around the world other that the “biggest democracy of the world” because of her repressive authoritarian political past. In fact, it is the people’s uncertain economic future that primarily drove them to push back against state violence unleashed by Hasina.

In fact, India’s unqualified support for Hasina clearly demonstrates complicity. According to the Washington Post, India even pressed the US to go easy on Sheikh Hasina before her ouster. After Indian lobbying, Washington toned down its criticism of Hasina. Yet, with all the Indian machinations to keep her in power, she fled the country much in the same style of other deposed dictators before her.

Bangladesh is entering a period of political uncertainty, with a high risk of both violence and economic instability. Hasina has left behind a terrible economic mess for the interim government to deal with.

Bangladesh has achieved an annual average growth rate of about 6 per cent over last two decades or so. The quality of statistical information provided by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) has always been of questionable quality, especially relating to GDP and human development indices. But the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have given their seal of approval to the growth figures.

According to a World Bank (WB) report (October 4, 2023) “Bangladesh has an inspiring story of growth and development, aspiring to be an upper -middle income country by 2031.” No wonder Hasina even drummed up her aspiration of Bangladesh to become a developed, prosperous and higher-income country by 2041. The IMF assured its continuing support to achieve this aspiration of Hasina.

The positive nod from the two multilateral organisations also largely reflects that the Hasina regime was supposedly adhering to the path outlined in the “Wahington consensus” in pursuing the “trickle down” approach to economic growth. However, such an approach along with mega corruptions (mostly through graft, overblown project costs and other corrupt means) only succeeded in shifting income upward creating a new social class of billionaires where Hasina and her immediate and extended family members also belong. In fact, Hasina’s regime was a pure kleptocracy under the veneer of a neo-liberal economic system.

This relatively high growth was largely achieved through mostly infrastructure investments comprising a very selected set of mega projects. While such investments helped propel economic growth, these mega projects also opened opportunities for mega corruptions benefitting her cronies and family members.

Rising income inequality coupled with stagnant- to- declining household income along with high levels of youth and graduate unemployment and very widespread underemployment clearly point out that economic growth achieved under the Hasina regime cannot be considered as inclusive growth.

During Hasina’s 15 years of repressive and corrupt rule, she over-exercised her power and patronage and saw the flourishing of high levels of white-collar crimes including an unprecedented scale of financial corruption. These financial corruptions resulted in an annual illicit outflow to the tune of US$6 billion, notwithstanding massive siphoning off billions of dollars annually through trade mis-invoicing. Her rule also saw an endemic corruption at all levels of government, particularly in law enforcement agencies.

Hasina’s own immediate family has also been alleged to be deeply involved in financial corruptions, not to mention the extended family. It has been alleged that her niece (a Labour member of the British Parliament) and her sister (a British citizen) were involved in various financial corruptions involving real estates, graft, and influence peddling. Similar allegations have also been levelled against her son in the US.

More recently it has been alleged that Hasina received US$6 billion from the Russian company involved in building the Rooppur nuclear power plant in Bangladesh as a kickback arranged by her same niece who is a junior minister in the current UK government. Hasina’s niece and her mother (Hasina’s sister) received 30 per cent of this Russian bribe money and Hasina pocketed the remaining 70 per cent.

According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), about 67 per cent of Bangladesh’s 170 million people are aged between 15 and 64 and more than a quarter are aged 15-29. The Bangladesh Labour Force (BLF) Survey 2022 finds that close to 60 million people, accounting for 84.9 per cent of the total working population in Bangladesh are employed in the informal sector. It is also noteworthy that the report also points out that out of the total employed women in Bangladesh, 96.6 per cent are in informal employment. According to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) 18.7 per cent of the population lived below the national poverty line in 2022.

Informal sectors in all countries are typically characterised by a high incidence of poverty and severe decent work deficits. It thrives mostly in a context of high unemployment, underemployment, poverty, gender inequality and precarious work. Informal employment arrangements are in practice or by law not subject to national labour legislation or entitlement to social protection or other employment guarantees. Therefore, the informal sector is marked by very lowly paid and precarious jobs.

Not surprisingly during Hasina’s rule poverty and unemployment were rapidly rising. Now 18 million young people, including university graduates, are currently without work. According to the BBS, approximately 40 per cent of youths in Bangladesh do not have jobs and are not receiving education or job training. An estimated 400,000 university graduates are competing for the 3000 civil service jobs that become available each year.

The economy is facing challenges at multiple fronts such as rising inflation, balance of payment deficit along with a budget deficit, declining foreign exchange reserves, contraction in remittances, a depreciating currency, rising income inequality and the demand-supply imbalance in the energy sector.

With inflation hovering around 10 per cent with food price inflation at around 10.5 per cent annually, Bangladesh is now in the grip of a cost-of-living crisis. Official inflation figures published by the BBS show that Bangladesh’s inflation rate was to 11.66 per cent in July compared to 9.72 per cent in June with food price inflation at 14.10 in July.

Now added to these challenges is the banking sector crippled by loan defaults i.e., non-performing loans (NPL). The NPL ratio in Bangladesh was recorded at 8.8 per cent in March 2023, amounting to BDT 14,963.46 billion (USD 136.92 billion), exhibiting an upward trend from the previous quarter’s ratio of 8.2 per cent. In December 2022, the total amount of NPLs stood at around Tk 1.21 trillion, which means total NPLs jumped by 20.7 per cent year-on-year. The accumulation of NPL is heightening the threat to the stability of the financial system

Over the last three years both exports and imports decelerated. Bangladesh’s external debt reached US$ 99.3 billion in March 2024 accounting for 23.6 per cent of the country’s GDP in December 2023. While Bangladesh’s external debt level remains within the IMF’s debt sustainability limit, the burden of debt servicing is on the rise thus creating a financial stress which is further compounded by the country’s low foreign exchange reserves and the continuing negative balance in the financial account in the balance of payments..

A country’s long-term credit rating as assigned by major credit rating agencies offers a comparative insight into the country’s credit worthiness and financial stability over an extended period. Now with the rising interest payment liability, external debt burden is also rising coupled with an inadequate policy response to stem falling exchange reserves resulting in all the three major rating agencies downgrading Bangladesh’s credit rating. This will create further stress on external debt servicing.

The corrupt and crony capitalist system that flourished under the Hasina regime has caused significant structural damage to the economy creating a formidable challenge for the interim government. As the country celebrates the departure of Hasina, the immediate need is to stabilise the political situation in the country as the precondition for stabilising the economy and to contain inflation which is the single most formidable challenge now facing the interim government.

Further ahead, to address the economic mess left behind by the Hasina regime, the interim government will need to concentrate on how to build enhanced state capacity and reorient its economic policy approach by focusing on building a competitive Bangladesh not only based on price competitiveness but also through innovation by harnessing the new technological frontiers using skilled labour with an emphasis on fairer distribution of income. Such a reorientation of economic policy will enable the country to achieve sustainable economic growth and development in the long run.​

 

[Saif]

July 2024 uprising: The lions need their own historians

It is inspiring to see Gen Z carving out its own pathway by taking concrete actions rather than resorting to empty rhetoric

www.thedailystar.net

July 2024 uprising: The lions need their own historians
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As if in a “tryst with destiny”, they responded to their calling by taking to the public streets en masse. PHOTO: NAIMUR RAHMAN

"Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter." — Chinua Achebe

July 2024 will go down in the history of Bangladesh as the beginning of the end of the most ruthless regime ever, marking the "cruellest month(s)" in a political "Wasteland," the country had already morphed into. While the body politic was far from moribund, it was finally "mixing" the people's short- and long-term "memory" of woefully bad governance gone awry—no longer able or willing to choose its enemies wisely (the name of the game in politicking, or the art of priming the politics of crime)—with a resurgence of a collective "desire" to break free from a Gargantuan impasse thrust upon them.

To university and college students across the country, who had been relentlessly sidelined, silenced, and subalternised year after year, "something [was always already] rotten" "in the state of" Dhaka (to alliterate with "Denmark"). Consequently, there was a tipping point, where "To be, or not to be, that was [no longer] the question." In their perception and interpretation, "'twas [no more] nobler in the mind to suffer/the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" than "to take arms against a sea of troubles/And by opposing end them," without worrying about "for whom the bell tolls" next. As if in a "tryst with destiny" (Nehru), they responded to their calling by taking to the public streets en masse.

Unlike Tiananmen Square in China or Tahrir Square in Egypt, this newfound popular uprising in Bangladesh, led by a student collective unaffiliated with corrupt and/or corruptible partisan, vicious, or vindictive politics, turned public streets into battlegrounds, tentacling across urban, peri-urban, and suburban areas nationwide. This was notably achieved by suburbanising the metropolis and metropolitanising the suburban—marginalising the centre and centring the margin—an epiphany held in abeyance for too long.

The student collective radically reimagined how inclusive and participatory governance and leadership could be orchestrated on the march, inspiring a "rhizomatic"—decentralised, dynamic, fluid, interconnected, multiplicitous, and open-ended—cognitive schema, rather than an "arborescent" or hierarchical, rigid, and linear one, to borrow from Deleuze and Guattari. They deserve kudos for reclaiming the historic role of student movements in pre- and post-liberation Bangladesh from the stranglehold of successive military and political governments, which imposed old, weary policies impervious to change. As Tagore's poem "Ore shabuj ore amar kancha, adhmorader gha mere tui bancha" exhorts, they resuscitated and rejuvenated the half-dead by jolting them out of their doldrums.

The disenfranchised people melted into one unstoppable force of fortitude and steadfastness. PHOTO: AMRAN HOSSAIN

Succinctly put, the students not only thought outside the box but also took a quantum leap of imagination. Benedetto Croce's deceptively anti-historical dictum that "all history is contemporary history" played out in the open. The disenfranchised people, driven by the power of resilience and righteousness of cause, and galvanised by the discourse of equity and inclusivity, orchestrated by Gen Z (with even Gen Alpha joining forces), melted into one unstoppable force of fortitude and steadfastness. They took live bullets and endured merciless beatings from law enforcement carrying out orders from a rogue chain of command—not with disdain, but in stride. When the military eventually backed out of the regime's coercive span of control, it turned into a perfect storm, tipping the balance in favour of the people.

The tinderbox had been building up for at least a decade. The state apparatus was defined by "necropolitics" (Achille Mbembe), where draconian power was deployed to violate civic space and human rights, beefing up surveillance and exclusionary practices, underpinned by "biopolitics" (Foucault) to suppress opposition and decide who deserved to live and who needed to die. Violations by the repressive regime included a crackdown on freedom of the press and expression (Digital Security Act, 2018 and Cyber Security Act, 2023), regulatory overreach on the right to hold public meetings by opposition parties, rampant election rigging, extrajudicial killings by crossfire, and enforced disappearances. The regime secretly bought the Pegasus spyware and the SpearHead surveillance system from Israel in 2018, using a Bangkok-based middleman, while Bangladeshi intelligence officers were trained in Hungary by Israeli experts to eavesdrop on ordinary citizens, opposition officials, and protesters. Its preferred exclusionary practice of "biopolitics" was instantiated by the infamous torture chamber Aynaghar (House of Mirrors), which mirrored its song/lyric namesake by the Swedish death metal band Arch Enemy—a haunting labyrinthine house with endless corridors and deceptive mirrors. The notorious Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib prison paled in comparison. The country became a massive "Panopticon," where all dissenting Homo sapiens were reduced to Homo sacer (Giorgio Agamben), or accursed men reduced to bare life, who could be killed with impunity without the right to embrace martyrdom.

The repressive government, led by arguably the country's most primed prime minister, was blinded by delusions of grandeur to be trigger-happy. Systematically dismantling all democratic institutions by pivoting on crony capitalism, demonocracy, disinformation, and kleptocracy, the regime mindlessly masked mounting misappropriations, embezzlements, capital flights, and depleted national exchequer bringing the country to the brink of bankruptcy with the belaboured narratives of mega-development. It widened the gap between the super-rich, who colluded with the corrupt government to accumulate enormous wealth at the expense of the dispossessed majority, with total impunity. The regime's intent to hold on to power indefinitely ignored or underestimated that it was always already embattled, if not beleaguered and besieged beyond belief and presupposition. As Foucault astutely observed, "Where there is power, there is resistance."

As competing narratives vied for control in the run-up to July 2024, the hunters—representing the regime—kept winning the controlling narrative to write the history of the hunt for decades until they could not. The tipping point came out of nowhere, like an iceberg in the ocean before the Titanic, reducing the regime to Neurath's boat, adrift and irrecoverable at sea. In other words, the experience of successfully hunting down all forms of opposition by crafting, manipulating, and weaponising a dualistic Manichean narrative of good (us) versus evil (them) to glorify its history was upended when it picked the wrong enemy: Gen Z, the new breed of lions in the body politic—able, agile, foresightful, and unencumbered, ready to take control of their destiny and history by speaking truth to power (revealing that the empress had no clothes). They learned fast from this Goliath in the road safety movement of 2018. As the deposed ex-prime minister, presided over hundreds of deaths of her own people with appalling abandon, she ran out of strategy unawares. Her abrupt and unforeseen loss of power and consequent exile came as a stark reminder of our inescapable brush with mortality when we least expect it, as captured by Emily Dickinson, "Because I could not stop for death/He kindly stopped for me."

Now that people's power has tipped the balance against the reign of terror, the journey to earn the much-coveted "holy grail" of democracy has transformed into a threshold marking the end of a new beginning. This "window of opportunity" rarely available to most nations must not be tinkered with or squandered. The roads taken by the unbroken stream of people on the long march from every nook and cranny of the periphery to the centre are now going to get longer and more arduous to return from. The watchword for this historic moment may be extracted from Chinua Achebe, "Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter." The hunting ground remains open and largely unguarded even as the new interim government takes over to embark on the daunting task ahead. The guarded optimism at this transition is that we are off to a good start, and, hopefully again, it is far from an open season for the hunters. However, this well-earned window of opportunity, calling for bold, new, and paradigmatic changes and initiatives, may be ephemeral.

Students took on the roles of traffic wardens and street-cleaning crews. PHOTO: RASHED SUMON

What still haunts us most includes the arson of public and private properties, vandalism, revenge killings, and attempts to destabilise community harmony (the term "minority" needs to be retired as the nation regroups under the rubric of equity and equality). The absence of law enforcement, vilified by the past regime, exemplifies how institution after institution has been systematically rendered extractive and dysfunctional to serve the regime's vested interests, blurring the boundaries between the state and the ruling political party. It is heartening that students nationwide continue to lead by example, pioneering in volunteerism and vanguardism, with full community support, illustrating how to rebuild the dilapidated institutions by the bootstraps. This includes keeping tabs on marketplaces to lower the prices of goods and services, protecting the houses and places of worship of minority communities, preventing break-ins, plundering, pillaging, and vandalism with success (even with the use of drones), and taking on the roles of traffic wardens and street-cleaning crews. These activities are poised to bring the fragmented and fractured community back together.

History is aptly compared to a palimpsest, where layers of the past are rewritten, often at the expense of erasing what came before. This practice, particularly when driven by self-serving motives, can carry a heavy price. The downfall of Sheikh Hasina's repressive regime, culminating in her ignoble ouster from the country, is a stark testament to this disingenuous approach. By attempting to glorify her father through the manipulation of national history and the monopolisation of its nuanced narratives, Hasina overplayed her hand. Surrounded by sycophants who created an echo chamber, she became blind to her moral decline, a descent that ultimately led to her downfall—one she can no longer disown. August 15, the day when Bangladesh's founding father was tragically gunned down along with almost all members of his family, now stands in ironic contrast to the narrative of his once-illustrious daughter. Her transformation into a nemesis of her father's legacy, through crimes against humanity, will be indelibly inscribed in the history of Bangladesh.

Benedetto Croce's remarkable parable, where history is likened to "a silkworm that continues to spin its cocoon patiently by itself," even "when people stop wearing silk," illustrates how history assiduously connects our future with our past, even as we remain fixated on the present. The treacherous roads ahead will require more than mere maintenance, as we must remain committed to the promises we've made, understanding that there are still "miles to go before we sleep." The new lions in the body politic have taken the first steps, but the road to democracy remains long and treacherous, fraught with dangers and snares, requiring the hard work of our united will. The heavy lifting has just begun.

Currently, in the face of a colossal climatic nightmare caused by an unforeseen cloudburst resulting in torrential rainfall, millions of mostly marginalised people in eastern Bangladesh find themselves stranded, marooned, and caught between life and death, submerged under water. In response, the nation has once again united, finding a silver lining in the worst imaginable adversity. With one voice, the rallying cry resounds, "Help is on the way." In this dire situation, it is inspiring to see Gen Z carving out its own pathway by taking concrete actions rather than resorting to empty rhetoric—a habit typical of the previous government's functionaries. Kudos to the members of the armed forces who are leading by example. Even as the beginning of the end and the end of the beginning come to fruition, the beginning never ends, as it remains an endless journey toward new beginnings. The sunrise will keep the lions going, sundown after sundown.

Dr Faridul Alam teaches at the City University of New York.​

 

[Saif]

Star Interview: ‘People’s pent-up anger fuelled the movement’

It’s been a month since the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government was overthrown by a student-people uprising. Noted economist Anu Muhammad discusses the movement, the regime’s fall, and the interim government’s tenure, tasks and challenges in an interview with The Daily Star’s Sharif M...

www.thedailystar.net

Star Interview: ‘People’s pent-up anger fuelled the movement’

It's been a month since the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government was overthrown by a student-people uprising. Noted economist Anu Muhammad discusses the movement, the regime's fall, and the interim government's tenure, tasks and challenges in an interview with The Daily Star's Sharif M Shafique and Sadi Muhammad Alok.

DS: Why is the student-citizen movement that toppled the previous government important in history?

Anu Muhammad: The movement is significant because of its success in toppling the party that has done everything to perpetuate its power for 15 years. The failure of other political parties created helplessness among the people.

Corruption led to price rises while people's real income along with employment opportunities fell. Crores of dollars have been laundered. All these together created a suffocating situation and rage against the previous government. The movement reflected the accumulated anger of the people.

The key point is – unlike 1969 and 1990, this movement had no political or specific leadership. Above all, Hasina's actions to suppress the movement led to the government's fall.

DS: You demanded the AL government's resignation on August 2 from the "Droho Jatra" march. Then came students' "one-point movement". How did the aspirations come together?

Anu Muhammad: There is no justification for the way Abu Sayed (slain Rangpur student leader) was shot. At one stage, when public university students could not tackle the situation, their private university peers joined in. Students from colleges and even schools joined the movement.

Around 200 people lost their lives at one point. In response, the general public joined the movement. Hasina called for talks all the while trying to suppress the movement by arresting its coordinators. That's why we organised the march. People were united in the collective demand for the government's resignation.

The Anti-Discrimination Student Movement on August 3 announced the single-point demand for the government's resignation in a massive rally.

DS: How is the interim government functioning? What should be their main job?

Anu Muhammad: The government has several important jobs: firstly, publish the full list of those killed and injured; secondly, take full responsibility for the treatment of the injured and send them abroad if necessary; thirdly, take responsibility for the families of the deceased and critically injured who have lost the capability to earn.

Besides, incidents like the torture of teachers or the suffering of minorities must stop. Attacks on sculptures, statues, and memorials of liberation are not acceptable in any way. The government must clear its position on these matters. Holding free and fair polls will also be an important task of the government.

Its main challenge will be to tackle quarters with self-interests, international lobbies, and civil and military bureaucracies – the three groups who want their interests protected. But the utmost strength of the government is the people. If transparency and accountability can be created, people will support this government wholeheartedly.

DS: What should be the new political settlement?

Anu Muhammad: We're talking about a discrimination-free Bangladesh which won't return to the previous system again. For this, political parties need major reforms. They should ensure democracy within themselves. Their activities should align with the people's interests. Without these, I have doubts if the parties will bring something new.

DS: There's a talk on amending or rewriting the constitution to prevent fascism. What can the government do about it?

Anu Muhammad: The 1972 constitution had several contradictions and it needs some major changes. This government can't do it alone. It can set up a "constitution commission" with competent people and let the commission form public opinion with their recommendations. Later, it can be decided whether these changes should be made through the constituent assembly, constitutional amendments, or a referendum.

DS: The law and order situation is not stable and it is the same old picture with arrests and abrupt cases. Why are these things repeating?

Anu Muhammad: This is because of the law enforcement agencies' pattern of work. The government should deal with it first. These cases won't last. For example, Shakib Al Hasan was sued for a murder that occurred when he was playing abroad, which is not credible. If these old habits don't change, the result will be the same.

So, the government must find a solution. It's right that a month is much less time, but not less to give instructions or directions.

DS: There is this idea of banning student politics in educational institutions. What's your take on it?

Anu Muhammad: Political party-led student organisations, especially those affiliated with the government, create problems in student politics. I don't see anything wrong with student politics. This time the student protesters claimed they were not associated with politics, but still they changed the regime. What can be healthier than such a form of student politics?

DS: There's a growing anti-India sentiment among the people. What should be the government's foreign policy?

Anu Muhammad: India had more influence on Bangladesh because of the AL and Hasina. The US, China and Japan also have influence here. It cannot be said that India will not dominate again because the BNP and the Jamaat have said they want to have good relations with India. Besides, no decision has been reached so far on cancelling the agreements with India, including transit and other controversial deals. The government should disclose the agreements with all the countries, including India.

DS: How long should this government stay?

Anu Muhammad: It depends on the speed of this government's work. A lot can be done with the concurrent energy of the revolution. It is possible to establish within six months a basis for some of the urgent tasks.​

 

[Saif]

How Hasina’s playbook was undone

In her final days, Sheikh Hasina desperately clung to power as if she had full legitimacy, unmindful of a big crack in her armour. Her edifice crumbled a month ago on August 5.

www.thedailystar.net

How Hasina’s playbook was undone
The ex-PM’s edifice fell apart a month ago today amid a student-led mass uprising

In her final days, Sheikh Hasina desperately clung to power as if she had full legitimacy, unmindful of a big crack in her armour. Her edifice crumbled a month ago on August 5. She fled Bangladesh, ending her iron-fisted rule of 15 years and leaving behind a legacy that established brutal authority over almost everything. A generation, to say the least, will remember her as a byname for intolerance to dissent, destruction of democratic institutions, rigged elections and utmost savagery in some cases. Sadly, her role in Bangladesh's economic prosperity for which she was feted globally will be a faded memory.

The month leading to Hasina's dramatic downfall was littered with death and destruction. Trigger-happy security forces, who were blamed for hundreds of deaths as the protests turned violent in mid-July, were out with full force. Videos of police shooting point-blank at nonviolent protesters emerged almost every day. Her brutal tactics led to an unprecedented bloodbath in any mass uprising in the region in memory.

Dystopian scenes vividly captured in photographs and videos by this newspaper as well as other media outlets will remain etched in our memory. Bangladesh became a symbol of nervous trauma. It was as if things were disintegrating from the centre. It also showed how peaceful protests lumbered into mindless mayhem. At one point, Hasina's government ordered a complete shutdown of the internet, the modern-day lifeline, knocking daily life out of balance, and taking Bangladesh back to the forgotten analogue age. That didn't quell the protests, started by university students but by now joined by people of every class and age groups, including women and children.

The government deployed platoons of paramilitary troops alongside the police to stem the ferocity of demonstrations with teargas shells, rubber bullets and gunfire. But the day wasn't saved as one act of vengeance spawned another round of violence. Hasina's party unleashed its youth wing on the streets to reclaim their turf. Bloodbath continued unchecked. The death toll climbed.

Hasina's government admitted, for the first time, that they were pushed to the wall, a comment that came with horrific finality. It was a precursor to something more ominous -- curfew. The deployment of the army on July 19, while it was undeniably necessary, tore the veil of stability that gave a fillip to the economy for more than a decade. The story of stability, sellable to foreign investors, lost much of its credibility. It also showed the government's struggle in its new term to hold things together as Bangladesh hurtled into an uncertain future.

DAYS OF UNYIELDING ANGER

Protests, anger and vengeance inhabited the period from July 16 to August 6. With the passing of each day, protests turned more violent and the mob burgeoned. In speed and scope, the violence went far beyond anything Hasina believed possible. Government establishments and vehicles were set on fire and two metro stations were vandalised in Mirpur. For their part, law enforcement agencies unleashed aerial fury by raining down rubber bullets and teargas shells on protesters from the sky, a newfound tactic. Street vendors and pedestrians were unwitting victims of the government's vengeance.

Ambulances, their sirens on, ferried the injured to hospitals, stretching health services in Dhaka and beyond. According to an initial count by the United Nations, 650 people were killed in Bangladesh with nearly 400 deaths reported from July 16 to August 4, and a further 250 in the new wave of violence between August 5-6. The health adviser in the interim government later said the death toll could be as high as 1,000. The Daily Star has so far been able to confirm more than 550 deaths.

The weight of the dead was too heavy. Shortly before midday, on August 5, Hasina was seen hurrying into a waiting helicopter in a disgraceful exit from Bangladesh. Her departure, which came after she lost the army's support, sparked jubilation across the country. Millions of people descended on the streets to celebrate the fall of her government, a significant turning point in the nation's history, amid dramatic and sometimes chaotic events.

As the news of her exit spread, the day became more volatile. The entire nation was in flux. Thousands of people stormed Gono Bhaban, the prime minister's official residence, looting souvenirs, frolicking on the premises and grinning for selfies as they posed with the loot. People toppled a statue of independence leader and Hasina's father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Arsonists set fire to the Bangabandhu Museum in Dhanmondi, in what the Crisis Group said was "an act of grotesque retribution". Reprisal attacks on Awami League leaders, sympathisers and religious minorities continued for the next few days.

It was almost unthinkable in January that Hasina's government would fall apart, just seven months into her fourth consecutive term, however deeply flawed the election may be. But support for the government was clearly waning. The largest opposition force, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, had boycotted the vote and turnout was conspicuously low. Global leaders were hesitant to congratulate Hasina on the win.

Hasina returned to power after winning the 2008 election in a landslide, but she seemed to have lost confidence along the way and rigged the subsequent three elections to hold on to power. And the regime became increasingly unaccountable for its wrongdoing. Internally, her overbearing presence hollowed out the party and other members lost their voices and roles. It morphed into a one-person party, and as such, a one-person government.

Hasina concentrated so much power in her hands and antagonised many who came into her orbit. The Awami League, which celebrated its 75th anniversary in June, and a party that has been a part of democratic movements from even before Bangladesh's independence, the leading party in Bangladesh's liberation war, seemed to have lost touch with the people.

Over time, Hasina who fits the playbook of a dictator became emotionally detached, unable to empathise with the suffering of people. This detachment manifested itself in increasingly brutal responses to anti-government protests. To maintain control, Hasina, like an isolated authoritarian ruler, often resorted to widespread surveillance and violent crackdowns on dissent. These factors created a feedback loop where her isolation exacerbated paranoia and repressive tendencies, ultimately leading to a more oppressive regime.

BEGINNING OF AN END

Protests erupted in Bangladesh in early July, when students began agitating against the reintroduction of controversial quotas for government jobs. The movement emerged amid widespread discontent with Hasina's government, which had grown increasingly authoritarian and had badly mismanaged the economy.

"It was Hasina's reaction to the protests that was her downfall. She sealed her fate when she decided to crack down rather than pursue dialogue with protest leaders," the Crisis Group said in a report.

As demonstrations swelled across the country in mid-July, law enforcement agencies tried but failed to suppress the student-led uprising with the majority of them being young protesters. Police and paramilitary units used "unnecessary and disproportionate" force and resorted to extrajudicial killings, a level of political violence rarely seen in Bangladesh since its independence in 1971. Even after the Supreme Court drastically reduced the job quotas on July 21, protests continued to gather steam, advancing new demands, including accountability for the killings and the government's resignation. That showed signs of Hasina's troubles ahead.

On August 4, a final, terrible round of bloodshed before the collapse of the government left close to 100 people dead, most of them protesters shot by police and ruling-party members acting as vigilantes. The next day, hundreds of thousands heeded student leaders' calls to march on Dhaka and poured into Shahbagh, defying another curfew. Just six kilometres away, Hasina packed up and fled Gono Bhaban. She found refuge in India, the next-door neighbour.​