United News of Bangladesh

Dhaka University Prof. Asif Nazrul on Monday urged people and students to have patience and maintain discipline in the country. At the same time, he also assured of moving forward in the right direction, saying great news awaits as per the aspirations of the students and people. He made the call in a video message posted on his Facebook page today. Sheikh Hasina resigns, leaves country with sister Sheikh Rehana: reports “We are now in a discussion with the Army Chief. It seems to me that he has understood the aspirations and expectations of our students and people,” he said. “I hope there is great news for you. I also request the students, the public and the youth to maintain peace and patience. This country is ours. From now on, we will move in the right direction,” he added.  

Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh, resigned on Monday and swiftly left the capital, Dhaka. Accompanied by her sister, Sheikh Rehana, she arrived in Agartala, the capital of the Indian state of Tripura, via helicopter, according to the Hindustan Times. The resignation and departure have prompted Indian authorities to issue a high alert at the India-Bangladesh border. The Border Security Force (BSF) Director General has arrived at the border to oversee security measures, ensuring the situation remains under control, the report states. Earlier, the BBC reported that Hasina left the country for Agartala by helicopter, marking a significant shift in the political landscape of Bangladesh. Speaking to the nation, Bangladesh Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman announced that an interim government would be formed. "We will go to the President. Nothing will be achieved through clashes and destruction. Each death will be investigated, and justice will be ensured," he emphasized. "We had a good discussion with everyone. The Prime Minister has resigned," the Army Chief added.

Some people have set fire to the Jatiya Party central office at Kakrail in the capital on Monday.  The office was set on fire around 4 pm, reports our correspondent from the spot.

At least 10 people were killed and over 100 injured in clashes between the protesters and police in parts of Dhaka on Monday morning. Sources at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) said more than 100 people were brought to the hospital since the morning. Of them, 10 were declared dead by the physicians, the hospital’s police outpost in-charge Md Bachhu Miah confirmed. Some of the deceased were identified as Russell, 28, Abdur Rahman, 22, Abul Kalam, Abu Ishak, 52, Saiful Islam Tonmoy, 22, Azmat Miah, 22 Rakib Hossain, 25, and Manik Miah, 27.

Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman on Monday said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has resigned and an interim government will be formed to run the country. “We had a nice discussion where we have decided that we will form an interim government,” he said in a speech after his meeting with the leaders of key political parties. The army chief said through an interim government all activities of the country will be conducted. “Now we will go to the President to discuss it and form an interim government to run the country.” He urged all to cooperate with him refraining from further vandalism, killings and clashes. “Please cooperate with me. Kindly, refrain from any more vandalism, killings and clashes.” The army chief said he is quite sure that if they work together they can proceed towards something good. “I am giving you word, we will ensure justice for all killings and injustice. Keep faith in the army and armed forces. I am taking all the responsibilities – safety of your life and properties. I am giving you a word, you will not be disappointed,” he said. The army chief said all the demands will be met and peace and discipline will be restored in the country. “Through clash and confrontation, we can achieve nothing,” he said, urging all to refrain from any destruction, anarchy and clashes. “InshAllah, we will march towards a beautiful future together. Justice will be ensured for each death and injustice,” said the army chief.  Thanking those who came for discussion at his invitation, the army chief said, “I invited them. It is very nice of them that they have come. And we had a good discussion. I think this discussion will be fruitful.”“Have patience. Give us some time. Together, we will be able to solve all the problems,” he said. He said much damage has been done, assets are damaged and people are dying. “Refrain from these and help me.” Top leaders from BNP, Jatiya Party and others, including Dr Asif Nazrul were present at the meeting.  Asif Nazrul conveyed a message to the students and hoped that students will remain calm. The army chief said if peace is restored, there is no need to impose curfew. He said the army will continue working for peace and discipline in the country. He hoped that the situation would improve with his speech. BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, BNP standing committee member Mirza Abbas, Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader, JP leaders Mujibul Haque Chunnu and Anisul Islam Mahmud, Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh leader Mamunul Haque, Dhaka University Law Department Prof Dr Asif Nazrul, Zonayed Saki of Ganosamhati Andolon, Khelafat Majlish’s Mufti Syed Md Faizul Karim, Bangladesh Jamat-e-Islami Ameer Dr Shafiqul Islam Masud, Hamidur Rahman Azad took part in the meeting held at the army headquarters.

The Anti-Discrimination Student Movement’s “March to Dhaka” programme is scheduled to be held today (Monday) although curfew was slapped from 6pm on Sunday due to widespread violence. The students’ platform rescheduled their March programme to Monday in the wake of unprecedented violence centring the peoples’ one-point demand for the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The violence left nearly 100 people dead and over 1000 injured. The presence of the general people on Dhaka streets was thin as of filing this report around 10am. However, law enforcement agencies including Bangladesh Army equipped with Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) were seen taking position at several important points of the capital. The presence of public transport on the streets is very low. However some rickshaws, autorickshaws and CNG-run autorickshaws were seen operating. The coordinators of the movement urged the students and people across the country to joint it.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Habibur Rahman has announced that legal action will be taken against those who violate the curfew laws. He has urged residents of Dhaka to avoid leaving their homes without a valid reason during the curfew hours. The Commissioner made these remarks during a press conference held at the DMP Media Center on Sunday at 10:30 PM. He stated, “Our actions will be directed against saboteurs, terrorists, arsonists, and those who attack the police. We will not offer any leniency to these individuals. We are compelled to apply the full extent of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police Act against them.” The Commissioner also noted that the government has shown compassion by releasing detained students. However, he accused the opposition 'BNP-Jamaat' faction of using students as shields and engaging in severe acts of sabotage and arson since Saturday, causing widespread damage across the country. He emphasized, “Our measures are not aimed at any student involved in the movement. Since the beginning of the quota movement, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police has been carrying out its duties with utmost professionalism and patience. We have made every effort to ensure the safety of the general public and to prevent any deterioration in law and order.” The Commissioner urged everyone to respect the law and refrain from any destructive activities during this period.

BNP on Sunday extended full support for the one-point demand of the student-led Anti-Discrimination Movement, urging its leaders, activists, and people from all walks of life to stand by the protesters. Speaking at a press conference at the BNP Chairperson’s Gulshan office, party Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir called on the government to step down amid the mass upsurge. The BNP leader stated that the entire nation has rallied behind the Anti-Discrimination Movement’s one-point demand for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's resignation and the immediate transfer of power to a neutral government, as announced by the student movement organisers at the central Shaheed Minar on Saturday. “BNP declares full solidarity with the one-point declaration raised by the anti-discrimination student movement and the masses,” he said. In this extreme crisis facing the nation, Fakhrul urged “democracy-loving people and the leaders, workers, supporters, and well-wishers of the BNP and its affiliated bodies at all levels to take to the streets and unite with the students to accelerate the fall of the ‘autocratic’ government in the larger interest of the country and the nation.” He also called upon all political parties, organisations, individuals, professionals, workers, farmers, and the vast masses of people to make the non-cooperation movement a success. The BNP leader noted that a wave of mass uprisings is sweeping across the country, including Dhaka city, against the government.  Asked about the process for the government’s handing over of power, Fakhrul said they will come up with a proposal on it after consultation with all stakeholders, especially those who are involved in the student movement. “We don't think that time has passed yet. We will inform you about this matter later.” He urged the army, government officials, administration, and members of law enforcement agencies not to take a stand against the people. “They must play a role in ensuring that our roads are not stained with the blood of the people and the students, and our children are not martyred." The BNP leader remained that those who are employees of the republic are not employees of any party or person. “They are completely accountable to the people. Taking it into consideration, they should involve with people defying the unjust orders.” Replying to a question about the consequence if the government does not resign, the BNP Secretary General said no one in history could stay in power in the face of a strong mass movement. "The strong mass wave of crowd has spread. A few days ago, my wife asked me whether she would still stay at home. My daughters and everyone's daughters have gone out of homes…We saw this mass uprising in 1969, 90, 70 and 71. The mass awakening has now arisen again with much more force than that,” he observed. Fakhrul said only a handful of students, who are not even professional student leaders, have awakened the entire nation. Stating that the government has destroyed the country in a planned way, he said now this is the time to stand up and resist the Awami League to it and now is the time to stand up against them. “They have to be forced to resign and this this the high time for them to go.” Blaming the government for the current situation, the BNP leader said the government is responsible for the current situation as they always committed crimes using the courts. He said the government has made the situation so complicated over the quota issue that the students are now at a point of no return. In this situation, Fakhrul warned that the more the government will buy time the more the nation will be affected and the Awami League will be harmed as a political party. The BNP leader also said the ruling party is trying to spread fear in the public mind by creating various terror attacks and acts of sabotage. “We want to say that they won’t be able to prevent their fall by doing this." BNP Standing Committee members Mirza Abbas and Selima Rahman were present at the press conference.

In response to the current curfew situation related to ongoing protests, Chief Justice Obaidul Hasan has declared that all courts across the country will remain closed indefinitely. On Sunday, August 4, the Supreme Court administration issued a separate notification under the Chief Justice’s directives. According to the notification, the Chief Justice has outlined the following instructions regarding judicial activities in the Appellate and High Court Divisions of the Bangladesh Supreme Court until further notice: 1. Judicial activities in the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court and all its offices and branches will remain closed as usual. 2. Judicial activities in the High Court Division of the Supreme Court and all its offices and branches will remain closed as usual. 3. Judicial activities in all subordinate courts and their offices and branches across the country will also remain closed. 4. The Chief Justice will take necessary actions in case of urgent matters as needed, the statement added.

Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) on Sunday suggested that the state structure must be overhauled to ensure human rights, justice and good governance. TIB placed an 11-point demand from a series of simultaneous human chains formed in Dhaka and 45 locations across the country on Sunday, said a press release. It said the students' movement has been the subject of severe and massive violation of human rights, characterized by indiscriminate and multi-dimensional cruel actions at multiple levels. The indiscriminate misuse of power by law enforcement agencies and relevant state institutions, the overall lack of good governance, and a governance system that is blinded by the arrogance of power, detached from public interest, devoid of transparency and accountability, and plagued by endless corruption are the primary factors behind this mayhem, said the Bangladesh chapter of Transparency International. In this context, the members of the staff and volunteer groups associated with Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) placed the 11-point demand. These demands must be accepted without delay and a specific and time-bound roadmap must be developed and executed for implementation, they said. The demands are: 1) Ensure proper accountability for human rights violations of all types and levels on the basis of a nationally and internationally acceptable investigation to be conducted by an entirely independent commission established and implemented at the initiative of the United Nations. 2) As a means to prevent any such human rights violations in the future, the entire state structure must be overhauled including all institutions associated with the rule of law, particularly the law enforcement and intelligence agencies through an initiative grounded on national consensus. 3) Law enforcement agencies must immediately stop harassment and brutality directed toward students and ordinary citizens. All detained students and ordinary citizens must be unconditionally released immediately, and all cases against them should be withdrawn. 4) All those responsible for the tragic deaths, illegal, arbitrary and motivated abuse of power, and the use of force and lethal weapons, must be identified and held accountable. Those responsible for ordering and approving this unprecedented brutality, which betrayed the spirit and aspirations of the Liberation War of Bangladesh, must likewise be subjected to exemplary accountability. 5) In this unprecedentedly tragic juncture of the nation’s history, a comprehensive list of all the deceased and injured, categorized by age and occupation, must be released without delay. 6) Full medical treatment and safety of the injured must be ensured, along with guarantees of their return to normal lives. 7) Just and fair compensation and rehabilitation must be ensured for each victim and their families, and the rehabilitation procedure must be disclosed to the public. 8) An environment must be created that is conducive to the free and unfettered flow of information. All direct and indirect threats, prohibitions, restrictions and controls against all media, including print, electronic, and digital, must be withdrawn without delay. All forms of internet and social media restrictions must be stopped immediately. 9) The deceptive strategy of suppressing dissent under the pretext of preventing violence or any other justification must be stopped immediately. The culture of surveillance-based intimidation against dissent, freedom of speech, and freedom of the media, which has created a nationwide sense of insecurity for all people, must be stopped. 10) Immediately stop the practice of using fake and deceptive narratives and falsehood being used to justify illegal actions and ensure human rights, justice and accountable governance. 11) Move away from the rhetorical claims of zero tolerance against corruption and take effective actions to eradicate the impunity of all forms of corruption, particularly at high-level which is the main reason behind sustained governance failure and professional bankruptcy of state institutions that have contributed to the unprecedented human rights violations. TIB said the entirely peaceful, non-violent and apolitical anti-discrimination student movement has been subjected to imposed violence, leading to unprecedentedly tragic loss of hundreds of lives and a reign of terror over the past two weeks. This has been characterized by a series of cruel killings by unlawful use of lethal weapons and disproportionate use of force by law enforcement agencies, arbitrary filing of cases, indiscriminate attacks, mass arrests through block raids, illegal remand, detainment, and torture in detention by the Detective Branch (DB) under the pretense of providing security, unjust warrants, online and offline threats, and systematic violation of constitutionally guaranteed human rights including freedom of speech, right to protest and freedom of association, it said. False narratives and fabrications have been used to legitimize these illegal activities which continue unabated, thereby obstructing any scope of resolution of the crisis, escalating public concerns, sense of insecurity and mistrust, it added. According to independent assessments, at least 200 students and ordinary individuals, including children, teenagers, journalists, and other professionals, have been killed by law enforcement agencies, TIB noted. The fatalities occurred due to the unlawful, random and indiscriminate abuse of power and the excessive and disproportionate use of lethal weapons by law enforcement agencies, as per credible evidence, it claimed. At least 213,000 individuals have been implicated in more than 200 cases in the police stations of the capital alone, said TIB. Disregarding all ethical considerations, students and individuals from a diverse range of professions and classes have been apprehended, abducted, and falsely accused, detained even in the middle of the night unleashing terror, despite the fact that there are obvious evidences of their lack of involvement in any violence or illegal activities, it added. During remand, numerous individuals are reportedly being subjected to physical and mental torture, said TIB.