Bangladesh shuts internet as 90 killed in protests

BBC News

Published: August 5,2024 12:28 PM

Bangladesh has ordered a second internet blackout in three weeks after a new round of anti-government protests killed at least 90 people and injured hundreds more.

The unrest in Dhaka and elsewhere comes as student leaders declared a campaign of civil disobedience to demand that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina step down.

Entrances to Dhaka have been blocked, with army units and police deployed across the city, and the government has announced a three-day holiday which has closed down businesses and the courts.

The student protests began with a demand to abolish quotas in civil service jobs but turned into a wider anti-government movement. The total death toll now stands at more than 280, most of them protesters shot by security forces.

Thirteen police officers were killed on Sunday when thousands of people attacked a police station in the district of Sirajganj, police said.

Both police and some supporters of the governing party were seen shooting at anti-government protesters with live ammunition. Police also used tear gas and rubber bullets.

Mobile operators received orders from the government to shut off their 4G services on Monday, reports said.

The country is “again in the midst of a near-total national internet shutdown after earlier social media and mobile cuts”, said NetBlocks, a watchdog that monitors internet freedom.

Internet shutdowns are a familiar move for authoritarian governments to control the flow of information and suppress dissent. In 2023, there were 283 government-ordered internet outages across 39 countries – up from 202 shutdowns in 2018 – according to Access Now, a non-government organization that tracks digital censorship.

On 18 July, the Bangladeshi government had also switched off the country’s mobile internet in an attempt to quell the protests. Broadband connectivity was restored a week later, while mobile internet services came back online days after.

But neither the internet blackout nor an indefinite nationwide curfew imposed on Sunday have hindered the protesters across Bangladesh.

On Monday, thousands of protesters started marching in Uttara, a suburb of Dhaka, chanting and demanding Ms. Hasina’s resignation – under the watchful eye of army personnel and police officers who have been stationed across various points in the capital.

Amid calls for her resignation, Ms. Hasina sounded defiant. Speaking after a meeting with security chiefs on Monday, she said the protesters were “not students but terrorists who are out to destabilize the nation”.

On Sunday, Law and Justice Minister Anisul Huq told the BBC’s Newshour programme that authorities were showing “restraint”.

“If we had not shown restraint, there would have been a bloodbath. I guess our patience has limits,” he added.

Deaths and injuries have been reported across the country, including the northern districts of Bogra, Pabna and Rangpur.

Thousands of people gathered in a main square in Dhaka and there have been violent incidents in other parts of the city.

“The whole city has turned into a battleground,” a policeman, who asked not to be named, told the AFP news agency. He said a crowd of several thousand protesters had set fire to cars and motorcycles outside a hospital.

Asif Mahmud, a leading figure in the nationwide civil disobedience campaign, called on protesters to march on Dhaka on Monday.

“The time has come for the final protest,” he said.

Students Against Discrimination, a group behind the anti-government demonstrations, urged people not to pay taxes or any utility bills.

The students have also called for a shutdown of all factories and public transport.

Around 10,000 people have been reportedly detained in a major crackdown by security forces in the past two weeks. Those arrested included opposition supporters and students.

Some ex-military personnel have expressed support for the student movement, including ex-army chief General Karim Bhuiyan, who told journalists: “We call on the incumbent government to withdraw the armed forces from the street immediately.

He and other ex-military personnel condemned “egregious killings, torture, disappearances and mass arrests”.

The next few days are seen as crucial for both camps.

The protests pose a momentous challenge to Ms. Hasina, who was elected for a fourth consecutive term in January elections which were boycotted by the main opposition.

Students took to the streets last month over a quota that reserved one third of civil service jobs for relatives of the veterans of Bangladesh’s independence war with Pakistan in 1971.

Most of the quota has now been scaled back by the government following a Supreme Court ruling, but students have continued to protest, demanding justice for those killed and injured. Now they want Ms. Hasina to step down.

Supporters of Ms. Hasina have ruled out her resignation.

Earlier, Ms. Hasina offered unconditional dialogue with the student leaders.

“I want to sit with the agitating students of the movement and listen to them. I want no conflict,” she said.

But the student protesters have rejected her offer.

Ms Hasina called in the military last month to restore order after several police stations and state buildings were set on fire during the protests.

The Bangladeshi army chief, Gen Waker-Uz-Zaman, held a meeting with junior officers in Dhaka to assess the security situation.

“The Bangladesh army has always stood by the people and will continue to do so for the interest of people and in any need of the state,” Gen Zaman said, according to a release by the Inter Services Public Relation Directorate.

Bangladeshi media say most of those killed in last month’s protests were shot dead by police. Thousands were injured.

The government has argued that police opened fire only in self-defense and to protect state properties.