Protest
Mohiuddin Roni alleges attack on him at Kamalapur station
Dhaka University student Mohiuddin Roni and his fellow protesters on Thursday alleged that they had been attacked at Kamalapur railway station by some law enforcement people.
"When we tried to enter Kamalapur Railway station to stage our regular protest, they stopped and attacked us. It is a clear violation of civil rights," Rony told UNB.
A female protester named Munni said, "When we were entering Kamalapur Railway station for protest, some Railway police and local law enforcement personnel prevented us. They hurt us by pushing us with their batons."
The incident took place around 5 pm on Thursday.
Another eye witness has given the same account of the incident.
Then the protesters came to Shahbag around 7 pm and squatted there demanding the implementation of his six-point demand along with the proper justice for such harassment.
Earlier on July 19, Roni submitted a memorandum to the director general of Bangladesh Railway to press for his six-point demand and gave an ultimatum of 48 hours.
Before this, from July 8, he has been demanding the implementation of his six-point denane after being deceived by SOHOZ.com while buying a train ticket to go home during the vacation of Eid-Ul-Azha.
However, when he alleged this deception to Vokta Odhikar Songrokkhon Parishad, they investigated it and fined SOHOZ.com an amount of TK. Two lakh of which Roni was given Tk50000 on July 20.
CU students protest harassment of female peer
Chattogram University (CU) students staged a protest on the varsity campus on Wednesday night, demanding justice for a female student who was allegedly harassed.
Hundreds of students gathered outside the vice-chancellor's residence on the campus at 10.30 pm and began their demonstration.
Shouting slogans, the protesters demanded the reactivation of CU's sexual harassment cell and steps aimed at ensuring the safety of all students on the campus apart from speedy justice in the harassment issue.
The students also protested against the university’s diktat asking students to return to the campus latest by 10pm. The protest continued till midnight.
A protester, Farzana Amin Sonia of the university's Communication and Journalism Department, said, "We dispersed only after an assurance from the CU administration."
Besides, the CU authorities also assured of taking legal steps against those involved in harassing the woman student after identifying them.
Read: Mason ousted from CU campus for harassing a female student
SM Manirul Hasan, acting registrar of CU, said, "If we fail to ensure justice in the harassment issue, I along with the proctorial body will resign."
On Sunday, a female student was physically assaulted by five youths while she was going to Botanical Garden from Pritilata Hall of the campus with his friend around 10pm.
They had also captured the incident on video and threatened them to make it viral. Later, they fled the mobile phones and wallets of the two students.
A five-member body has already been formed to look into the matter while a complaint was lodged with Hathazari Police.
Read: 3 Shohagh Paribahan staff held for sexual harassment of CU student
Thousands protest against Sri Lanka's new acting president
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled on a military jet on Wednesday after angry protesters seized his home and office, and appointed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as acting president while he is overseas. Wickremesinghe quickly declared a nationwide state of emergency to counter swelling protests over the country's economic and political collapse.
Rajapaksa had earlier pledged to resign Wednesday, and Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said the president assured him he would still do so. If he does, a new president is to be elected by Parliament on July 20. Wickremesinghe has also promised to resign, but not until a new government is formed.
His appointment as acting president failed to calm thousands of protesters who stormed his office compound on Wednesday demanding he step down. Over the weekend, protesters wanting him to leave politics burned down his private residence.
A six-time prime minister, Wickremesinghe’s latest term is arguably the most challenging. Appointed in May by Rajapaksa, he was brought in to help restore international credibility as the government negotiated an economic bailout package with the International Monetary Fund.
Wickremesinghe, who is also finance minister, became the public face of the economic collapse, which has triggered severe shortages of food, fuel and medicines. He has delivered weekly addresses in Parliament as he kicked off difficult negotiations with financial institutions, lenders and allies to fill government coffers and give some relief to impatient citizens.
Read:Sri Lankan PM takes over powers of president
He raised taxes and pledged to overhaul a government that had increasingly concentrated power under the presidency, a model many say tipped the country into crisis.
In his new job, he left little doubt about the grave future ahead. “The next couple of months will be the most difficult ones of our lives,” he told Sri Lankans in early June, a few weeks before saying in Parliament that the country had hit rock bottom. “Our economy has completely collapsed,” he said.
Ultimately, observers say, he lacked both political heft and public support to get the job done. He is the only member of Parliament in his party after it suffered a humiliating defeat in a 2020 election.
His reputation had already been sullied by his previous stint as prime minister, when he was in a difficult power-sharing arrangement with then-President Maithripala Sirisena. A communication breakdown between them was blamed for intelligence lapses that led to Easter Sunday suicide bombings of churches and hotels in 2019 that killed 290 people.
With no respite for citizens waiting in line for fuel, food and medicine, Wickremesinghe became increasingly unpopular. Many protesters say his appointment simply put off pressure on Rajapaksa to resign. But analysts are doubtful whether a new leader can do much more, instead fearing that political uncertainty will only intensify the crisis.
Sri Lanka president, PM to resign after tumultuous protests
Sri Lanka’s president and prime minister agreed to resign Saturday after the country’s most chaotic day in months of political turmoil, with protesters storming both officials’ homes and setting fire to one of the buildings in a rage over the nation’s severe economic crisis.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said he will leave office once a new government is in place, and hours later the speaker of Parliament said President Gotabaya Rajapaksa would step down Wednesday. Pressure on both men grew as the economic meltdown set off acute shortages of essential items, leaving people struggling to buy food, fuel and other necessities.
Police had attempted to thwart promised protests with a curfew, then lifted it as lawyers and opposition politicians denounced it as illegal. Thousands of protesters entered the capital, Colombo, and swarmed into Rajapaksa’s fortified residence. Video images showed jubilant crowds splashing in the garden pool, lying on beds and using their cellphone cameras to capture the moment. Some made tea, while others issued statements from a conference room demanding that the president and prime minister go.
It was not clear if Rajapaksa was there at the time, and government spokesman Mohan Samaranayake said he had no information about the president’s movements.
Protesters later broke into the prime minister’s private residence and set it on fire, Wickremesinghe’s office said. It wasn’t immediately clear if he was there when the incursion happened.
Earlier, police fired tear gas at protesters who gathered in the streets to march on the presidential residence, waving flags, banging drums and chanting slogans. In all, more than 30 people were hurt in Saturday’s chaos.
Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said in a televised statement that he informed Rajapaksa that parliamentary leaders had met and decided to request he leave office, and the president agreed. However, Rajapaksa will remain temporarily to ensure a smooth transfer of power, Abeywardena added.
Read: Why Sri Lanka’s economy collapsed and what’s next
“He asked me to inform the country that he will make his resignation on Wednesday the 13th, because there is a need to hand over power peacefully,” Abeywardena said.
“Therefore there is no need for further disturbances in the country, and I urge everyone for the sake of the country to maintain peace to enable a smooth transition,” the speaker continued.
Opposition lawmaker Rauff Hakeem said a consensus was reached for the speaker of Parliament to take over as temporary president and work on an interim government.
Wickremesinghe announced his own impending resignation but said he would not step down until a new government is formed, angering protesters who demanded his immediate departure.
“Today in this country we have a fuel crisis, a food shortage, we have the head of the World Food Program coming here and we have several matters to discuss with the IMF,” Wickremesinghe said. “Therefore, if this government leaves there should be another government.”
Wickremesinghe said he suggested to the president to have an all-party government, but did not say anything about Rajapaksa’s whereabouts. Opposition parties were discussing the formation of a new government.
Rajapaksa appointed Wickremesinghe as prime minister in May in the hope that the career politician would use his diplomacy and contacts to resuscitate a collapsed economy. But people’s patience wore thin as shortages of fuel, medicine and cooking gas only increased and oil reserves ran dry. Authorities have also temporarily shuttered schools.
The country is relying on aid from India and other nations as leaders try to negotiate a bailout with the International Monetary Fund. Wickremesinghe said recently that negotiations with the IMF were complex because Sri Lanka was now a bankrupt state.
Sri Lanka announced in April that it was suspending repayment of foreign loans due to a foreign currency shortage. Its total foreign debt amounts to $51 billion, of which it must repay $28 billion by the end of 2027.
Read: Sri Lanka holds its breath as new PM fights to save economy
Months of demonstrations have all but dismantled the Rajapaksa political dynasty, which has ruled Sri Lanka for most of the past two decades but is accused by protesters of mismanagement and corruption. The president’s older brother resigned as prime minister in May after violent protests saw him seek safety at a naval base.
With fuel costs making other forms of travel impossible for many, protesters crowded onto buses and trains Saturday to get to the capital, while others made their way on bicycles and on foot. At the president’s seaside office, security personnel tried in vain to stop protesters who pushed through fences to run across the lawns and inside the colonial-era building.
At least 34 people including two police officers were hurt in scuffles. Two were in critical condition, while others sustained minor injuries, according to an official at the Colombo National Hospital who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to talk to the media.
Privately owned Sirasa Television said at least six of its workers, including four reporters, were hospitalized after being beaten by police while covering the protest at the prime minister’s home.
Sri Lanka Medical Council, the country’s top professional body, warned that hospitals were running with minimum resources and would not be able to handle any mass casualties from the unrest.
Protest and religious leaders said Rajapaksa has lost his mandate and it is time for him to go.
“His claim that he was voted in by the Sinhala Buddhists is not valid now,” said Omalpe Sobitha, a prominent Buddhist leader. He urged Parliament to convene immediately to select an interim president.
U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung on Friday asked people to protest peacefully and called for the military and police “to grant peaceful protesters the space and security to do so.”
“Chaos & force will not fix the economy or bring the political stability that Sri Lankans need right now,” Chung tweeted.
Dueling narratives of Arizona protests ended with tear gas
Protests outside the Arizona Capitol over the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade that ended with a volley of tear gas were variously described Saturday as either peaceful or driven by anarchists intent on destruction.
Republican Senate President Karen Fann issued a news release describing it as a thwarted insurrection, while protesters called it a violent overreaction by police who they said acted without warning or justification.
Arizona Department of Public Safety statements said state troopers launched the gas as some in a group of 7,000 to 8,000 people that rallied at the Capitol on Friday night were trying to break into the state Senate. Lawmakers were working to finish their yearly session.
The vast majority of people were peaceful and state police said there were no arrests or injuries. While both abortion opponents and abortion rights backers were there, most of the crowd opposed the high court's decision.
Police fired tear gas at about 8:30 p.m. as dozens of people pressed up against the glass wall at the front of the Senate building, chanting and waving signs backing the right to abortion. While most were peaceful, a handful of people were banging on the windows, and one person forcefully tried to kick in a sliding glass door.
That's when SWAT team members with the Department of Public Safety stationed on the second floor of the old Capitol building fired the tear gas.
READ: Palestinian march in Paris defies ban, is met by tear gas
Video taken from inside the Senate lobby by Republican Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita showed the scene. Another she took moments later showed state police in riot gear forming a line inside the building, facing protesters on the other side of the glass.
She said in an interview with The Associated Press on Saturday morning that the protesters were clearly trying to enter the locked building.
"They were aggressively banging on the windows in a way that at any moment it could break," Ugenti-Rita said. “This wasn’t a knock on a window. I mean, they were trying to break the windows.”
Hundreds of protesters could been seen in her videos milling about the plaza between the House and Senate buildings, while about a hundred were closer, near the glass wall at the front of the Senate building.
“There was no other conclusion than they were interested in being violent,” she added. "I have no other takeaway than that. I’ve seen many protests over my years, in many different sizes and forms. I’ve never seen that ever.”
Democratic state Rep. Athena Salman of Tempe, however, said those gassed were peaceful.
“A bunch of House and Senate Democrats voted to give these cops a huge pay raise,” said said on Twitter in a post showing police firing tear gas. “Some even called it historic. Remember that every time the cops gas peaceful protesters.”
State police said in a statement that what “began as a peaceful protest evolved into anarchical and criminal actions by masses of splinter group.” And they said they had issued multiple warnings for people to leave.
Police said gas was deployed “after protesters attempted to break the glass" and was later deployed again in a plaza across the street. Police said some memorials at the plaza were defaced.
No broken glass was visible at the Senate building after the crowd dispersed.
Salman said in an interview Saturday that police in Arizona have a long history of using unneeded force against people exercising the First Amendment rights to protest and then blaming them for causing the trouble. She pointed to Black Lives Matter and immigrant justice protests, and said she's not surprised to see it at an abortion rights protest.
“Anything related to human rights they're ultimately going to gas the crowd and then come up with cover stories justifying this excessive use of force,” Salman said.
State Senate Democrats issued a statement Saturday saying the vast majority of protesters were peaceful while noting that a small number tried to enter the building.
“We unequivocally condemn violence in all forms, and anxiously await the investigation results to explain the response of law enforcement,” the statement said.
They also criticized “right-wing media and lawmakers” who called it an “insurrection attempt,” and said they were “weaponizing this moment to deflect from the actions of January 6th.”
READ: Palestinian march in Paris defies ban, is met by tear gas
Republicans lawmakers had enacted a 15-week abortion ban in March over the objection of minority Democrats. It mirrors a Mississippi law that the Supreme Court upheld on Friday while also striking down Roe. A law dating from before Arizona became a state in 1912 that bans all abortions remains on the books, and providers across the state stopped providing abortions earlier Friday out of fear of prosecution.
The protester incident forced Senate lawmakers to flee to the basement for about 20 minutes, said Democratic Sen. Martin Quezada. Stinging tear gas wafted through the building afterward, and the proceedings were moved to a hearing room instead of the Senate chamber.
Fann was presiding over a vote for a contentious school vouchers expansion bill when she abruptly halted proceedings. Speeches backing or supporting the bill expanding the state's school voucher program to all 1.1 million public school students were cut off, and the bill passed.
“We're going into recess right now, OK?” Fann announced. “We have a security problem outside.”
The building was never breached, said Kim Quintero, a spokesperson for the Senate GOP leadership.
After the tear gas sent protesters fleeing, the Senate reconvened to vote on its final bills before adjourning for the year shortly after midnight. A faint smell of tear gas hung in the air.
Schoolboy’s death sparks protest in Khulna
Local people on Tuesday set a bus on fire and put up a barricade on Bamia Sardarbari intersection protesting the death of a schoolboy in a road accident in Koyra upazila of Khulna district, said police.
Quoting local people, sub-inspector of Koyra Police station Babon Das said a 14-year-old schoolboy, identified as Ramjan Ali, a class VIII student and son of Kinu Ali Sardar of the upazila, was killed when the Paikgachcha-bound bus knocked down him while he was returning home from school by a bicycle around 2:30 pm.
READ: 25-year-old found dead at Khulna rehab centre
Angered by the accident, local people put up a barricade on Bamia Sardarbari intersection and set the bus on fire.
Later, local people cleared the road after police intervention.
BNP lawmaker Harun asks govt to protest remarks against prophet
BNP MP Harunur Rashid on Sunday asked the government to summon Indian high commissioner and bring a motion of condemnation in Parliament for derogatory remarks by BJP leaders about Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).The opposition MP made the demand during a discussion on the Point of Order in Parliament."We all know that the whole world is protesting against the insult to our Prophet (PBUH) in India. It is also happening in Bangladesh. Most worryingly, we as a Muslim-majority country and an important member in SAARC…we are noticing with concern that the government is yet to express any protest or give any reaction on this issue."
Also read: Ranga blasts Harun in parliament The BNP MP also said that parliament is in session at present. “A condemnation motion must be placed in parliament.“Harun said anti-Muslim activities in India have increased a lot in the last few years. A few days ago, controversy on hijab was created.
Also read: HC dismisses BNP lawmaker Harun's appeal against jail term, but reduces sentence“I think the Indian high commissioner needs to be summoned by the Bangladesh government and we should express strong protests.”
Protest rallies held in Bangladesh to condemn remarks against Prophet
Protests were held after Jumma prayers on Friday in capital Dhaka and parts of the country to condemn the derogatory remarks against Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) by two ruling party leaders of India.
In Dhaka, several thousand people took to the streets after the prayers at Baitul Mukurram National Mosque and marched up to Nightingale point in Kakrail amid heavy police deployment, witnesses said.
One of the rallies was held by Islami Andolan Bangladesh.
After the demonstration its leaders said the party will stage a demonstration and submit a memorandum to the Indian Embassy in Dhaka on June 16 protesting the remarks about Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) made by the leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The party’s senior Naib Amir Mufti Syed Muhammad Faizul Karim Shaikh Charmonai announced the programme.
He demanded that Bangladesh Parliament adopts a motion of condemnation in its current session and the government summons the Indian high commissioner to hand over a protest note.
If New Delhi fails to bring the BJP offenders to justice the party will hold a mass processions towards the Indian high commission in Baridhara on June 16, he said.
Indian Muslims protest over Prophet remarks
The row over controversial comments made by two former spokespersons of India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) about the Prophet Muhammad is escalating with each passing day.
After the Friday prayers, Muslims in Delhi and the neighbouring northern state of Uttar Pradesh took to the streets demanding the immediate arrest of erstwhile BJP national spokesperson Nupur Sharma and former Delhi media cell head Naveen Kumar Jindal.
Also read: Muslim nations slam India over insulting remarks about Islam
The protests broke out simultaneously in Delhi outside the Jama Masjid, one of the largest mosques in India, and in several cities of western Uttar Pradesh. "The law and order situation is more or less under control in Delhi, as the protests have been largely peaceful," a police officer said.
Local TV channels, however, aired footage of violent clashes between the protesters and police in the city of Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh.
The protests erupted in the wake of the controversial remarks against the Prophet Muhammad, which triggered a major diplomatic row between India and many Muslim-majority countries -- the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait and Qatar to name a few.
On Sunday, the BJP sacked the two spokespersons from their respective posts, saying the party “respects all religions”.
“The BJP does not promote such persons or philosophy… it (the BJP) strongly denounces the insult of any religious personalities of any religion,” the party had said in a statement.
Also read:India's BJP sacks two spokespersons over comments on Prophet
In fact, the BJP swung into firefighting mode hours after Qatar and Kuwait -- with which India shares close ties -- had summoned the Indian envoys in their respective countries to lodge their "strong protest" over their controversial remarks.
Later, Iran, Indonesia, the UAE, Oman, Jordan, Iraq, Libya and Bahrain also issued condemnations.
India's main opposition Congress party had also lashed out at the BJP over the fiasco and questioned if the ruling outfit was on a course correction mode. "Is the BJP sincere in course correcting?" the Congress had said in a statement.
Garments workers burn 3 police bikes at protest demanding pay rise
Workers of several garments factories blocking Mirpur-10 intersection from Friday noon demanding pay rise had a clash with police trying to disperse them and later burnt three motorcycles.
“Police held some eight to ten of the protesters over the incident”, a police officer from Pallabi police station told UNB reporter on the spot.
The garment workers were blocking Gol Chattar intersection of Mirpur-10 from 2 pm today and around 5 pm police members dispersed them from the spot, he said.
Also read: 20 injured in clash over land dispute in Sylhet
Later the protesting workers took position at Mirpur-11 and had a chase and counter chase with police.
To take control of the situation, police baton charged and shot tear shells at the protesters.
After that, the protesters burnt three police motorcycles and vandalized a vehicle of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) parked in front of Shaheed Suhrawardy Indoor Stadium at Mirpur-10.
Also read: Tension mounts as BCL, JCD clash at DU
After police detained some of the protesters they left the area.