Al least four people were killed and several injured when military and member of the law enforcing agency allegedly fired gunshots at the agitating people, mostly supporters and activists of the Bangladesh Awami League in Gopalganj district headquarter in Bangladesh on Wednesday.
The violence erupted when a newly formed political party named National Citizen Party (NCP), backed by present interim government, went to hold a rally in the hometown of Bangladesh founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Local people said that tension spread in the town when the NCP leaders and activist chanted various slogans undermining the father of the nation, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman before the rally at Gopalganj Municipal Park.
The Awami League people together with locals chased the NCP leaders and demolished the stage resulting disruption of the rally.
They also brought out procession protesting against the provocative slogans and remarks made by the NCP men.
People from surrounding villages rushed to the town and joined with protesters. As the procession moved toward the city, clashes broke out with law enforcing agencies including the Police and Rapid Action Battalion.
At certain stage military people rushed to the spot and fired gunshots and charged batons at the agitating people when at least four protesters were killed and several were injured, police and local media said.
Later the military people rescued the NCP leaders and took them to a safe place by armoured vehicles.
The Awami League supporters alleged that the NCP leaders, who led the demolition of the residence of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, housing the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum in Dhaka in February this year, announced to remove the name of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from the locality, which prompted them the resist the NCP men.
Earlier in the morning, the clashes between the police and Awami League activists in the Ulpur area led to gunfire, vehicle vandalism and arson.
Three police personnel, including the In-Charge of Gopinathpur Police Outpost were injured and the vehicle of Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) also came under attack.
The NCP claimed that these attacks and violence were orchestrated to disrupt their peaceful program.
Protesters in Gopalganj also torched an Army vehicle during the day-long clash.
Earlier in May, the interim government in Bangladesh led by Muhammad Yunus banned all activities of the Awami League, the political party headed by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted last year in a movement.
The government also banned the student wing of the AL previously.
The interim government lodged hundreds of murder cases against the Awami League leaders and activists, leaders of pro-liberation organisations, cultural activists and journalists indiscriminately.
The government also took various anti-liberation moves and indulged the activities and vandalisms by the July-August protesters, Islamists and religious fundamentalists all over the country.
US based newspaper The New York Times in a report entitled “As Bangladesh Reinvents Itself, Islamist Hard-Liners See an Opening” focused the rise of Islamists during the regime of Muhammad Yunus led government.
In February this year, a group of religious extremists stormed into a stall at a book fair in Bangladesh protesting against selling of a book written by exiled feminist writer Taslima Nasrin and forced the publisher to close the stall.
Read more: Bangladesh at risk as interim regime targets secular forces, favours extremists.
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Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
