More than 50 people killed, scores injured in new round of clashes
\n DHAKA
\nThe Bangladesh military was deployed to the streets to impose an indefinite nationwide curfew on Sunday as protesters clashed with authorities amid a new wave of demonstrations demanding the prime minister\u2019s resignation, which comes weeks after a deadly crackdown.
\nThousands of Bangladeshi protesters took to the streets of Dhaka on Saturday and Sunday, as student leaders launched a nationwide civil disobedience campaign to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
\nThe fresh protests came after earlier demonstrations in July, which began with students calling for an end to a quota system for government jobs, escalated into violence.
\nThose nationwide campus rallies were attacked by pro-government groups, leading to clashes with security forces, a week-long communications blackout, a curfew, and more than 200 deaths.
\nAfter demonstrators returned to the streets in what appeared to be the biggest numbers yet, Bangladesh\u2019s Interior Ministry said an indefinite nationwide curfew would start at 6 p.m. on Sunday, while internet services were again shut down.
\nMore than 50 people were killed and scores were injured in the new round of clashes, according to the country\u2019s leading Bengali-language Prothom Alo newspaper, as police fired tear gas and lobbed stun grenades to disperse the tens of thousands of protesters.
\nStudents Against Discrimination, one of the main groups behind the initial protests, has called on \u201cstudents from all over the country to travel to Dhaka\u201d on Monday.
\n\u201cThe time has come to make the final signature of this student citizen uprising. Come to Dhaka to be a part of history,\u201d Asif Mahmud, a coordinator of the group, said in a statement issued after the curfew was announced.
\n\u201cStudents will create a new Bangladesh.\u201d
\nWhile the Supreme Court eventually scrapped most of the quota to open civil service positions to candidates based on merit, the government\u2019s response to the demonstrations last month and the arrest of thousands of people have turned the student-led protests into a public movement, with more groups joining in the last few days, including teachers and TV stars.
\n\u201cThe current situation is best described as a massive popular uprising. It enjoys support from the whole nation, except a few beneficiaries of the regime,\u201d Salimullah Khan, political analyst and professor at the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh, told Arab News.
\n\u201cRepressive measures are solely responsible for these mass murders and crimes against humanity. The true conclusion is in the immediate exit of the regime. Dithering will only cost more lives.\u201d
\nThe protests have become a major challenge for Hasina, who returned to power for a fourth consecutive term in January in an election boycotted by her main opponents, including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
\n\u201cThe BNP resolutely supports the students\u2019 demands and pledges and stands by them unwaveringly,\u201d Mohammed Nawshad Zamir, BNP international secretary, told Arab News.
\n\u201cTherefore, we must persist in our street demonstrations until the illegitimate regime of Sheikh Hasina is ousted and a national government of consensus is established.\u201d
\nHasina\u2019s party, the ruling Awami League, said the student-led movement has been \u201cpoliticized.\u201d
\nKhalid Mahmud Chowdhury, an Awami League parliamentarian, told Arab News: \u201cIt\u2019s a conspiracy to destroy the country. With the current situation, it has been proved now.
\n\u201cOur law enforcers are still showing maximum tolerance to the protesters. But they have to understand, it doesn\u2019t mean we are weak.\u201d
\nYet efforts to suppress the civil movement in Bangladesh, which included \u201crandom and disproportionate use of force by the law-enforcing agencies,\u201d were at a scale \u201cnever seen before,\u201d said Dr. Iftekharuzzaman, executive director at Transparency International Bangladesh.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s quite ominous. Unfortunately, we see there is no way out of this situation or light at the end of the tunnel because the use of force to manage the crisis continues,\u201d he told Arab News.
\n\u201cAuthorities ignored the power of the students\u2019 movement, and on the other hand, authorities considered themselves invincible \u2026 They failed to realize that the students\u2019 movement is invincible here in the history of Bangladesh.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
More than 50 people killed, scores injured in new round of clashes DHAKA The Bangladesh military was deployed to the streets to impose an indefinite nationwide curfew on Sunday as protesters clashed with authorities amid a new wave of demonstrations demanding the prime minister\u2019s resignation, which comes weeks after a deadly crackdown. Thousands of Bangladeshi […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":422945,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-422918","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n